Teeth and a Bullet
by Rokenpair2
Summary: Tragedies have a strange way of bringing people together. When the choice becomes make allies or be slaughtered by the living dead, relationships become all people have. Warnings: Rating WILL go up, foul language, gore, violence. More extensive warnings by chapter. More pairings than worth listing.
1. Chapter 1

**So.. This is going to be really long... The story. Not this. Yes. ****A little about how this will work, the plan is to update every Saturday. Warnings will be added at the beginning of each chapter and if really controversial things pop up, we'll try to make an extra note to let y'all know. Aside from that, check the profile to find other stuffs written by the two insane peple behind this longer than average thing.**

**Warnings: Slight violence, slight gore. Oblivious Spaniard. **

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Arthur ran. He ran for his very life away from the stumbling creatures behind him. His hands were coated with the drying blood of his neighbor, a woman he had known for three years. Three years! All he had been doing was tending to his roses. The flowers brought him well needed happiness in his life when very little else did anymore. The woman had come stumbling into his garden with a series of low moans, and tried to _bite _him, scrabbling at his throat with clawed, dirtied fingernails and gnashing teeth. In a blind panic he hardly had enough time or sense to fend the crazed woman off with his sheers! He could feel deep gouges scoured into his arms and neck and, almost out of instinct, he slammed the sheers into her chest through her heart with a terrified, confused shout.

He gaped in pure horror and roiling sickness when the woman merely staggered back before picking up a cry of hunger with the discolored, slowly rotting throat, coming to lurch towards him again despite the blow that shouldn't have been survivable for any reason. A cry of terror split from his lips as he picked up his shovel from the ground, the metal glimmering in the dying sunlight, and drove the dull edged shovelhead into her skull. He shuddered as the woman slumped to the ground, completely still. Very slowly he backed away, feeling his stomach churning dangerously. "I... I didn't mean to... Oh my God." He rasped, before feeling a terrible wave of nausea roll through him as he lost the contents of his heaving stomach in the grass beside the corpse of the woman, her blood steadily seeping into the fertile ground. The only thing that had cleared his head from his actions were his other neighbors clamoring over the fence around his garden, all in a similar state as the woman had been.

This was why he ran. Ran for his very life. Lungs burning for air, terror forcing wave after wave of adrenaline through his veins. He ran for first one hour, and then a second before he saw the light of the inside of a room through a window to a simple looking house.

Antonio simply loved just sitting on his couch, playing his guitar. Even though he played the beat up acoustic the majority of the day in his little coffee shop, it was something he did every evening as the sun went down, looking out at the sky through his window as blue caught fire, melting into a beautiful rose and a brilliant peach. He strummed the last chord of a song he himself had written when a soft shudder ran through his spine. The street was empty. Silent. Still. It was still early enough that his street should have had people milling about with all the children in his neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. It was strange, the stillness. A hum of discontent buzzed on his lips as he stood up from his couch, resting the instrument in his lap to the side gently, and moved to have a better look out the window.

To his utmost surprise a man was sprinting toward his house and from the looks of his heaving chest, he had been running for an awful long time. He was so startled and confused by the desperation in the man's features that it took until he heard insistent, rapid pounding and a breathless baritone voice at his door, lilting with an English accent. The words weren't distinguishable until he had drawn closer to his front door. For a brief moment, his terribly confused emerald eyes flicked over to the hall closet, knowing his ax was hidden safe inside, but he told himself there was no reason to jump to such drastic conclusions.

Arthur continuously slammed his fist against the wood of the door, feeling sick with the thought that perhaps the man he had seen cross over to the door wouldn't open it to him. "Please!" He begged, glancing behind him as the creatures tearing after him groaned their protests and cried their screams of hunger as they pin pointed where Arthur stood. "Please... Please let me in... God... Please sir! They've all gone bonkers! They tried to kill me, please! Let me in!" He cried, trembling with fear and cramping from his hard run.

Antonio was curious, hesitant, and confused when he opened the door, peeking around the sturdy wood at Arthur. It was the absolute sense of relief that flooded the blonde's eyes that convinced Antonio to open his door the rest of the way and let the man inside. "Um... Amigo? Who have gone bonkers? I don't... Por favor, calm down!" He said in exasperated confusion. He glanced outside for a moment before his eyes went huge at the sight of a man with a monstrous wound in his neck. With a slight sound of surprise, he shut the door quickly and locked it, pulling Arthur further away from the door in his nervous apprehension. "What... What happened amigo?" He asked after a moment, giving himself time to calm from his shock.

"Oh thank God!" Arthur gasped once the door was closed behind them. He slumped to the floor with a harsh, shuddering sob, blood soaked fingers running through his ruffled, flaxen hair. It took him a moment to realize the tan, curious man above him was indeed speaking to him. "My... My neighbors!" He whispered after a moment, attempting to control his hysterical breathing. "They've been sick... For the past week or so, but... But I was in my garden and one of them... A woman I've known for three years... She... She tried to _bite _me." He explained in a shaky, terrified voice, eyes wide with terror as he looked up at the stranger whose house he had invaded.

"And there were others! Six...maybe seven of them...they...they chased after me! I've been running for two hours! I've been hearing gun shots and screams and...the city... it's gone _insane!_"

Antonio stared at Arthur warily, not entirely sure what to think. Was this man being serious, or was he crazy? He didn't know, but this man was making him nervous. Blood was splattered all over him and he was stuck in a fit of hysterics, but it wasn't like Antonio to run away from someone in need, even if they were crazy. After a moment he went into the kitchen and retrieved a dampened rag. Hesitant, he stretched out to hand it to Arthur, staying as far from him as he could. "Amigo... Are you on drugs? Should I... call someone to help?" He inquired, running his tanned fingers through his chocolate, wavy hair. Could people on drugs make something so morbid up? He thought so...

"I'm not on _drugs!_" Arthur snapped accepting the rag and furiously scrubbing at his hands. He felt like the blood of the woman was permanently ingrained in his skin no matter how hard he scrubbed "I've already called...but go ahead if it'll make you feel better. The bloody hot line is busy." He muttered, tossing his cellphone onto the ground and continuing to clean the blood from his shuddering hands. He hadn't just called 110, he had called several people, his friends, family... No one had answered. Not a single one of them. He hoped that they were all busy, sleeping, _something_, but deep down he knew he was wrong. Something was wrong, terribly terribly wrong, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"Ah..." Arthur gasped and swore as he moved the blood stained rag over the jagged cut on his forearm. Light headed from the burst of pain coupled with his stress and fear, he glanced up at Antonio with tired eyes. "Do...do you have any gauze or something?" He asked shakily, looking back down at the wounds with wide eyes. It was strange, he hadn't really noticed he was hurt while he was running, but now the wounds were making themselves noticed.

Curious, Antonio dialed 110 on his phone while Arthur cleaned himself up, not believing the line was full. How could it be? "How can the emergency line be...?" He trailed off as he held the phone up to his ear and stared at Arthur with a gasp of disbelief; A pleasant automated voice informed him all the lines were full. "Is that even possible?" He whispered, slowing starting to think maybe Arthur was telling the truth as crazy as it sounded. "Amigo... I have a medical kit in my bathroom... but I think you need something to calm down..." Hesitantly he looked towards the bathroom, debating on whether to find something to calm the shuddering blonde's nerves or to go get the medical kit. "I'll go get the kit... but... try to make it to the couch before I get back si? Then you can tell me more about what happened..." Came his words, sighing from his lips. Whatever had happened to Arthur, Antonio was starting to believe.

Arthur looked up with an 'I told you so' look in his eyes, his usual gentleman-like personality lost in his fear and shot nerves. He didn't press the issue though, just glad that Antonio wasn't accusing him of being crazy, instead he sighed and nodded slowly. "Yes...I'll try to make it to the couch." He muttered, grabbing the door and supporting himself with a hiss as he struggled to his feet. A moment's hesitation was taken as he tried fruitlessly to stop the spinning dizziness in his head, but when it didn't go away he just moved forward slowly. Cursing, he lifted his hand up to his forehead and steadied himself before turning back to the living room and, stumbling towards the living room, shot a look over at Antonio with a shaky sigh. "Thank you...I...I forgot to say it...but thank you. I wouldn't have made it much longer out there with those...things." He whispered before continuing back to the couch and slumping onto the cushions with a groan, smugness long forgotten.

Antonio just nodded, not feeling the need to be thanked. He had always been raised to help strangers in need after all. Returning Arthur's shaky smile with a smile of his own, he went into the bathroom to retrieve his inadequate medical supplies. He had Band-Aids for every type of wound, a spool of stitching thread and a needle, an ace wrap and a few packets of gauze, but the was about it. With a sigh and feeling bad he didn't have something better to help, he brought another dampened rag out with him and handed all of his supplies to Arthur, eyes apologetic. "Here, amigo... I hope it is enough... Now you said... your neighbors tried to bite you? Why...? Why would they try to bite you? I don't understand..." He asked in a quiet voice, glancing at Arthur with both curiosity and wariness in his startling emerald eyes.

Arthur looked up from between his fingertips and groaned as he sat up, looking grey and ashen. "Thank you...this should be enough." He murmured, taking the new rag and dabbing at the already clotting wound on his neck. Looking up at Antonio, he grimaced as he eyed the needle and thread. At least he could stitch himself up... "I don't know why they would try to bite me...honestly...they didn't say anything! Their eyes... they were milky white and...Their skin was decaying! It was almost like they were...dead." He whispered, lifting up the needle and threading it with a practiced motion. His neck stung bad enough to make his eyes water. "She scratched my neck up pretty good...does it look...bad?" He asked with a grimace.

"Well... It doesn't particularly look good... But the scratches aren't too deep... You're lucky she didn't cut you jugular." Antonio commented, bending in closer to get a better look at the wounds on the man's neck. Long, jagged, bleeding and red, but hopefully not something to worry too much about. "They can't be... dead... si? I mean... walking corpses? Dios mio! Now _I'm_ starting to sound muy loco... Crazy... Amigo are you sure? I don't know why you'd lie about something crazy like this... I just don't..." He trailed off unhappily and sat on the floor in front of the couch, eyes dark with confusion and worry as he watched Arthur stitch himself up. "If what you say is true... then we shouldn't stay here long... I have many neighbors amigo..."

Arthur smiled shakily at the crazy comment and shook his head. "No...I know it sounds crazy but it's what they looked like. They didn't say a word...I... I even stabbed her through the heart! She didn't...she didn't even..." There were tears falling from his eyes now. Cursing, he shuddered and set the needle aside, his eyes too blurry and he wasn't going to make much progress. "God damn it all...what's wrong with them? I...I had to kill her...before she would stop." He stammered, his sobs returning along with a small wave of nausea that he easily swallowed down. "God...this isn't...this has to be a bad dream is all!"

Antonio sighed and moved closer to Arthur until he could pick up the needle. He allowed Arthur to cry in peace as he continued to stich him up, thinking how crazy this all was, but he couldn't bring himself to call Arthur a liar, after all... the man clearly believed what he saw and that was good enough for Antonio. "I don't know what is wrong with them amigo... Lo siento... I believe you though... if that makes you feel any better..." He offered, a small, sad smile on his face as Arthur sobbed quietly.

Arthur looked up at him through tear filled eyes, wincing as the needle pulled through his skin. "Thank you...you've been so kind." He whispered, looking down at his newly stitched arm as Antonio finished sewing up his neck. "I don't know how I'm ever going to repay you...but I will...ow...think of something." He promised, glancing around the room slowly to keep his mind off the pain in his neck. The room, unsurprisingly, had a distinctly Spanish feel to it. Reds and oranges, very vibrant, bright colors. It was comfortable and lively. "My name's Arthur...Arthur Kirkland, by the way." He explained after a moment of admiring the room. "I guess you'd at least better know my name, seeing as you've been more than kind to me today..."

"What else was I supposed to do amigo? Leave you alone out there to die? This is nothing, Arthur. I only wish I knew how better to help you..." Antonio assured as he methodically stitched up Arthur's neck. "I am Antonio... Antonio Fernandez Carriedo. I hate to be rude amigo, but if you keep talking I'll never get these wounds stitched on your neck. Now... If what you say is true, I am sure there are more of these walking corpses... I don't know how safe my house will be for more than a few days..." Already he was thinking of where to go and what they would do. As far as he was concerned, Arthur was stuck with him now. They'd have far better chances getting out of town together than they would on their own.

"Nice to...ow...meet you Antonio." Arthur smiled shakily, his eyes watering fiercely as he struggled to hold still despite the awful feeling of the needle sliding underneath his skin. He listened for a moment to what the man had to say and sighed giving him a thumbs up as a confirmation that he understood. Honestly he didn't know what was going on, what these things were, or if this was something that would blow over quickly, but what he did know was that those things needed to be avoided at all costs. He didn't know how they would do that, but he did know that sitting in Antonio's living room probably wasn't the best idea with what potentially could be the living dead wandering around the streets.

Antonio finished his stitching after a few more minutes of prodding and cut the needle from the thread. He pulled away from Arthur after that and smiled shakily. "Well. It is nice to meet you as well Arthur. I'm sorry this happened to you, but I am glad you found your way here instead of dying in the streets. There is no point in going and leaving tonight with it getting dark... That is... If you are wanting to stay with me, amigo. I realize you and I probably have different ideas in what to do..." Strangely enough, Antonio was apprehensive at being alone _if _Arthur was telling the truth and corpses were roaming the streets.

Arthur swallowed heavily, glancing over at the window where, distantly, he swore he could hear the groans of the creatures. They were frightening and sickening, causing his already rolling stomach to be dangerously close to dry heaving. "Go out there? After dark? I'm not suicidal just yet thank you." He whispered his face paling noticeably, but then, remembering that he was in some stranger's house, he jumped and looked at Antonio, trying to hide the fear that flashed in his eyes. "That is...if you don't mind me staying here. Honestly it is your house and I could probably find somewhere to crash!" He stammered frantically, terrified at the idea of being thrown out. "Oh who am I kidding...yes please... don't make me go out there again. I can leave in the morning if you'd like but I really really don't want to go out there right now." He whispered, glancing at the door again and feeling sick when he definitely heard the sound the infected's groans.

"I am not heartless Arthur. I would never intentionally send a man to death... I won't kick you out... You are more than welcome to stay here for as long as it is safe to stay here. Breathe amigo... I won't make you leave!" Antonio felt like he had to repeat himself multiple times before Arthur seemed to understand what he was saying. The hysterics in Arthur's eyes made the Spaniard wary. He really was rather nervous about this stranger breaking down in the middle of his living room. Besides, he didn't really want to be alone any more than Arthur wanted to go back outside. "I just can't promise your safety even here." He said when Arthur seemed to understand what he was saying. It had only taken a few insistent reassurances on his part.

Shuddering violently, Arthur nodded, attempting to calm his breathing once again. He was so grateful for this man's kindness. "Thank you... in here is safer than out there..." He assured, though he wasn't even sure about that himself. It only made sense that the house would be safer though, considering the animated corpses, if that was indeed what they were, were _outside._ "I don't know what it's like out there now...but...when I was out there I could hear sirens...shouting...gun shots...everything coming from the city...It was terrible. Like some horror movie!" He explained shakily, wincing at a particularly loud groan from the street. "The streets are empty from what I could tell. Just a few of those things wandering around... I...I think we should be ok for the night."

"Lucky I don't live in the city... Lucky you came out towards the outskirts instead of going into it... I believe you amigo. I am sure this is something to worry about... I suppose if we stay quiet we might go unnoticed for the night..." Antonio agreed with a tired looking smile. How strange it was to know everything had gone to hell so fast. "Unfortunately I only have the one bed... You can take it, if you'd like..." He offered with a yawn. It wasn't that it was particularly late, he had just gotten up before the sun that morning. Sleep seemed like their best bet anyway while they were safe in the house.

"No no it's your bed...I'll sleep on the floor!" Arthur insisted, startled the man's kindness seemed boundless with the offer. "Please...you've already been so kind to me. You don't need to give up your bed." He insisted, not wanting to offend the Spaniard but also looking stubborn despite the simplicity of the request. "Do you have any weapons? Something? I know it's a weird questions, but if one of those things shows up I'd rather be able to defend myself." He muttered, eyes glancing nervously over the area, glazing over in anxious terror.

"I insist you take the bed. You are a guest in my home... as for weapons? I... have an ax... But apart from that weapons are limited in my home... I have a few knives in the kitchen..." Antonio tried, looking apologetic. He should have been able to give Arthur something more helpful, but there really wasn't any reason for him to own any weapons. "Ah... Lo siento amigo... Now stop being stubborn and just use my bed! I will likely be unable to sleep anyway!" He ordered firmly, looking just as stubborn at insisting as Arthur had been in refusing.

"I'd rather not." Arthur snapped, looking furiously stubborn and sounding completely flustered and exasperated. "I'll hardly sleep either... I insist that _you_ take _your_ bed." He ordered, crossing his arms over his chest and wincing as the stitches pulled. These gouges were going to be sore for a while... He could already feel the ache of a sore wound forming under the burning pain. "As for the weapons...give me a knife. I'll... Make do." He pointed out with a sigh, still stubbornly glaring up at the man. "I'll sleep on the _floor_ thank you."

"Then you are foolish and the bed will go unslept in." Antonio growled, growing exasperated with the stubborn Englishman in his living room. He stalked into the kitchen and retrieved a couple different knives, none of which would be of very much help, seeing as they were all kitchen knives and didn't fold up. They really would have to do. After retrieving the knives, he made his way back into the living room and opened up the closet. Inside a majestic, war and scuffle battered battle ax leaned against the wall. He retrieved it with a proud look in his eye. "Stubborn man." He sighed, holding the ax in both of his hands, eyes roaming across ever dent and chip in the blade, knowing all of their stories by heart.

Arthur huffed as the man returned and pulled a face. "You're just as stubborn as I am! Honestly it is_ your_ bed!" He pointed out, following the man with his eyes with a small stubborn frown on his face. "That's...is that an antique?" Arthur demanded, impressed despite himself by the ax that the man produced. "It's handsome...I have an old musket set from around that time area..." He pointed out eyeing it quizzically.

"It's my house, but you are a guest in my house, therefor I have been raised to extend the upmost hospitality to guests! Now take the damn bed before I knock you out and put you there mys- My ax?" Antonio broke off, mid threat. He eyed his weapon proudly, a distant look in his eyes and a smile on his face. "Mi abuelo... He'd tell me stories... stories that his abuelo told him... Conquistadors Arthur... Spanish conquistadors... He'd tell me so many tales... journeys on the sea... battles against British pirates... This ax has been in my family for years and years and years... It is a good weapon."

Arthur opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by the man's proud tale. Chuckling at his enthusiasm over the ax, he nodded and smiled softly. "Grandfathers always have the best tales...mine told me all the time of our family's history. Not as noble as yours of course...we were the pirates that your ancestors hunted." He laughed lightly, momentarily forgetting the situation when he spotted the excited, proud look in Antonio's eyes. "Alright...I'll take the bed, on the condition that you stay there as well." He ordered looking firm in the statement. "I won't try anything and I'm sure you won't either...so there should be no problems, right?" He pointed out looking unwavering.

"Mmmm... Mi abuelo... He'd knock me over the head for letting a British man in my bed... But if that is the only way you sleep in a more comfortable place than the floor, then I will sleep there too... Try anything though..." Antonio's emerald eyes darkened a bit and his grip on his ax tightened noticeably, though a smile was still on his face. "And I will chop you to pieces with my ax... Comprendes?" He locked eyes with Arthur, intense but hesitantly trusting.

"Your grandfather has weird choices for people he finds to be untrustworthy... I for one, find myself quite harmless for the most part." He pointed out calmly. Raising an eyebrow, Arthur looked down at himself and back up at the man with an almost amused look in his eyes. "I'm...not sure I'm much of a threat at the moment." He laughed, a bit amused by the man's threat though he knew that he was serious. "I will not touch you...you won't even know I'm there." He promised, placing his hand over his heart.

"What can I say? He was a crazy old man..." Antonio said with a laugh and a fond light in his eyes. The intensity faded and he found himself easily trusting Arthur's words despite the fact that he was a complete stranger. "I promise you the same thing amigo. I will keep my distance. Now... Would you rather food first before we sleep?" He asked, not feeling particularly hungry himself, but unsure if maybe Arthur was.

"No...I'm not hungry. Thirsty...but not hungry." Arthur answered, thinking back to the food he had upchucked during his flight. "I'd...rather not risk food on this stomach." He pointed out with a small grimace, glancing up at the man with a sigh. "We should probably lock this place up...doors and windows and all that. I don't want to deal with those things sneaking into the house." His face was creased with worry at the idea of waking up with some creature sinking its teeth into his guts.

"Thirsty? I can fix that... Anything in particular you'd like to drink?" Antonio asked, not having a clue at what the man liked. He looked at the window in the living room with a frown and walked over to it, checking to be sure it was locked. As a side thought, he shoved a bookshelf in front of it, spilling most of the shelves' contents onto the floor. "That fixes one... We can maybe push the couch in front of the back door... It's almost completely window... The front door is locked and the other window in the living room... I don't know what to put in front of that one..." He thought aloud, looking concerned at the other window.

"Do you have tea? If not...water would be just fine with me." Arthur sighed, standing with a grimace and holding his hand up dizzily to his forehead." Damn it all..." He grumbled, resting his hand on the back of the couch to steady himself. He felt a bit nauseous for a moment, but he managed to gain control after a bit and sighed. "Do you have a table? You can place that in front of the window up front. That should hold them for the night." He suggested hopefully, moving to follow the man into the kitchen.

"You don't look so good amigo... should I give you some medicine or something? As for tea... I think I might have a few bags... I'm not a big fan of the drink myself..." He said apologetically after a minute of quiet thoughtfulness. He opened a cabinet in the kitchen and retrieved two tea bags with a triumphant smile. "This work?" He asked hopefully before glancing at the table. "Your table idea should work..."

Arthur looked up from where he had seated himself at the table and smiled shakily. "Thank you... that's fine...I feel like a terrible house guest." He chuckled bitterly as he placed his head in his hands. "I'm just...exhausted." He pointed out with a reluctant groan. "That woman tore me apart and then I ran cross country... I guess right now all I want is an ibuprofen and a bloody shower." He grumbled, leaning back in his chair. "Then again...I'm honestly just happy to be alive." His voice was a bit wary as he glanced over at the unblocked window only to jump to his feet with a small muffled shout. "Bloody hell!" He yelped, pulling Antonio back away from the window roughly and whirling him around. "They...they're in the bloody street! Look at all of them!"

Antonio's eyes widened in shock as he took in the fifteen or so things in the middle of the street. They all sort of shuffled around aimlessly, not paying much attention to themselves or anything else. Somehow he didn't think it'd stay that way. "Arthur... Do you think they'll try to get in the house? Do they even realize we are here?" He asked in a voice that was softer than a whisper. "I... let me get you an ibuprofen... I'm not too sure about the shower though... There are so... many..."

"I don't...I don't think they've seen us." Arthur whispered, pulling Antonio backwards towards the kitchen door. "Forget the bloody ibuprofen." He grumbled, his eyes locked onto the creatures. "Let's...let's just get upstairs ok? Grab a couple bottles of water and some food and we'll sit up there until they're gone." He ordered softly, afraid to speak much louder than his whisper. "There're so many...I barely managed to kill one I...don't think we can fight them all Antonio." His heart rate was rising noticeably as he struggled to fight against the panic rising up in his throat.

"Go upstairs. I'll be up there in a minute... I'll grab some water and food and meet you up there... Breathe ok? They haven't seen us yet... so we should still be safe. I promise you Arthur that it will be ok... but you have to stay calm and trust me... sí?" Antonio breathed before slipping away from Arthur's side to retrieve the items in question. If there was any amount of doubt in his mind before, it was completely erased by the sight of them. "Dios mio... Please keep us safe..."

Arthur remained frozen for a minute, the panic rising up in his chest. He looked up as Antonio spoke though and met his gaze with a shudder. "Ok...Ok..." He stammered raspily, moving backwards slowly, his eyes following Antonio cautiously. "Hurry." He all but begged as one of the infected turned towards the house, making Arthur flinch before it slowly turned away again. Swallowing heavily, he crawled up the stairs dizzily, his heart beat thundering in his ears until he located Antonio's room and staggered inwards. Sitting down beside the bed he shuddered and placed his head into his knees. "No no no...This isn't happening... this is a dream...that's it...it's a dream." He whispered, shuddering violently as he listened to the sounds of the creatures moving below him.

Antonio grabbed two bottles of water and a box of saltine crackers before he slunk back to the stairs, watching the unblocked window cautiously to make sure it was safe before daring to dart up them. He slipped into his room silently and frowned when he saw Arthur breaking down. "Hey... Amigo breathe... It'll be ok. It looks bad now... but it'll be ok." He attempted to reassure softly as he walked into his room and shut his door quietly. "Don't think about them..." He urged, drawing closer to Arthur and away from the door.

Arthur jumped about a foot in the air when Antonio entered the room. Looking up, he slowly unwrapped his fingers from around the kitchen knife he grabbed as a weapon. "Don't think about them? They're right there! They've pinned us in!" He stammered, pressing his face back into his knees once again. He had to pull himself together... It wouldn't do him any good to panic in a situation like this. Looking up at Antonio he took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "How are you... How are you staying so calm?" He demanded cautiously as Antonio moved into the room. "The dead are walking the streets, a stranger bursts into your house soaked in blood and rambling about his neighbors trying to eat him... And yet you seem as calm as if I were an old friend just stopping by for Sunday brunch."

"The way I see it..." Antonio began as he set his findings down on the bedside table and grabbed the blanket from his bed before wrapping it around Arthur with a sigh. "There is no need to panic while I am relatively safe. There is no point in freaking out about something I cannot do anything about... Once they start attacking us, then maybe I will panic... but for now we are safe and should hopefully stay that way for the night..." He smiled slightly at Arthur after a moment, looking a bit sheepish. "That... And I'd rather look brave and keep you calmer as well than have us both freak out..."

Arthur listened to the man speak with relative calm, finally managing to coax the tears out of his eyes as he smiled softly. "Thank you... I don't know how I managed to get so lucky as to run into someone like you." He whispered, wincing as a gunshot filled the air down the street but managing to remain in his near calm as he pulled the blankets around himself tightly. "I...I don't think I would have done very well by myself." He admitted smiling sheepishly and shivering violently under the blanket. "What are we...you going to do tomorrow then? It seems unlikely that you can stay here." He sighed, attempting conversation to keep his mind off of the creatures' moans downstairs.

"Not me. We. What are _we_ going to do... You can't go off on your own, injured as you are. What _we'll_ do is get out of the city... Far away... and try to find others." Antonio said firmly, leaving no room for question. He wasn't about to let this man, even if they knew nothing about each other, go off and get himself killed. Frowning when he saw Arthur shiver, he looked back up onto the bed, wondering if he should give him the other blanket as well.

Arthur looked back at the man in utter confusion. Why was he risking taking in a complete stranger such as himself for no reason at all? He was thrust at Antonio in a time of complete chaos as yet another burden and yet he didn't seem bothered in the slightest by him. "I...alright. Thank you...I don't know what I'm ever going to do to repay you, but when this is over I will...I will repay this kindness." He assured him, his eyes filled with determination as he glanced over the man's shoulder and frowned when he spotted a TV. "Hey...do you think...do you think they've said anything about what's going on?"

"You don't owe me anything. You don't owe me a single thing... There is a reason God brought you to me... and I think that was to give us a fighting chance..." Antonio said with a firm nod of his head and a smile. His green eyes flitted over the TV as well and he frowned. "They might have... It's worth a try in checking I guess..." He said, reluctantly going over to turn the TV on. The screen flared to life and they were immediately met with the back half of an emergency broadcast signal. "I'd say the chances of there being a report on this are high..."

"...mended to keep away from the infected citizens. Please remain calm...This is an emergency broadcast brought to you by your local government officials. A recent spike in the violently infectious disease, the Green Flu, has led to a shutdown of the broadcast system. Citizens are reminded to please evacuate to the local shelters and to remain calm." Arthur felt his blood chill as the automated voice filled the air. "What...is this?" He demanded, his shivering increasing dramatically. "I...they can't be...what's going on?" Arthur shuddered, his eyes flickering to the window again. "I don't like this at all."

Antonio didn't seem to be having the same problem as Arthur, for his emerald eyes fluttered as he tried to stay awake. For a few minutes it looked like he was completely asleep, but then an eye opened lazily and a grin quirked at the corners of his lips. "Now that I think about it... There's this guy who lives about three blocks in... He's some crazy military nut. Armored truck and machine guns... It might be worth checking his house before we bail tomorrow... If..." He paused to yawn rather noisily and his eyes fell shut once more. "He is still alive, he might help us... if not... at least his stuff is..." He yawned again and it took him a good five minutes to remember he had been talking. "His stuff is still there..." He finished in a sleep muffled voice.

Arthur looked over at the man with a small, hopeful smile only to find he was barely hanging on to consciousness. Chuckling despite his best efforts at the lazy smile on his face, he sighed and pulled the blanket up over him a bit tighter. "Yes... I suppose it would be worth a look. Now...I suppose we should try to sleep then... Good night Antonio." Arthur sighed, smiling when he found the man was already sleeping soundly. Chuckling, he rolled away from the man attempting to join him in sleep but quickly finding the process impossible. He sat awake for a good hour, listening to the sounds coming up from the street, but eventually he fell into a light, fitful sleep, his dreams plagued with the noises of the infected below them.

Antonio woke with a bit of a start in the early hours of the morning, the sun had yet to rise. It took a minute to realize what had woken him when he heard the strangest sound of something scrapping against the door to his room. It almost sounded like... nails. He sat bolt upright in his bed and had his ax in his hands within a few heart beats. Had he just imagined the sound? But no. There it was again and this time a low, gurgled moan followed after. With a trembling hand he shook Arthur, trying to wake him. If the zombies were in his house... but why hadn't they just broken down the door as they must've had to do to the front door... None of it made sense. "Arthur... Arthur amigo... wake up. Wake up!" And suddenly the scratching turned frenzied outside his door and shrieks sounded from first one, then two and then an entire group of mutilated, dead throats and his heart sank. They hadn't known they were there... but they did now... And they were trapped.

Arthur sat up with a small gasp as Antonio grabbed his shoulder. Confused, disorientated and in pain, he let out a small hoarse yelp and nearly tumbled out of the bed. "What...what...who!?" Arthur gasped, his hand flying up to his neck in confusion as the stitches pulled. It took him a minute to realize what was happening, his eyes frantic and disorientated, but when he finally did he felt his mouth clamp shut with a terrified shudder. His eyes flicked to the door where the sound of bodies slamming against the weak wood filled the air. "Oh my God... they've found us." He choked out, scrambling out of the bed and lifting up his knife. "The door...they're going to make it through the door!" He gasped, looking around the room for an escape route. "The bed..." He whispered, grabbing the bed and shoving it towards the door with a grunt. "Find a way out!" He ordered, wincing as his arms pulled slightly.

"Through the window... But we are on the second floor... Dios mio..." Antonio's heart thundered furiously in his chest as he helped Arthur shove the bed in front of the door just as the wood started splintering. He tried to think of ways out of his room, but the window was really the only thing he could think of... They'd have to risk it. He grabbed the blanket off the bed and tied it around the bar holding up the curtains before yanking the metal pole from where it was and resting it across the window sill. "You're just going to have to trust me amigo... I'll go down first to keep whatever is on the ground away from us... can you propel down the side of the house with the blanket?"

"If it's a choice between that and being eaten alive... I'll do whatever I have to." Arthur grumbled, his hand subconsciously fluttering to his torn up arms. Could he support himself? Just moving the bed he had nearly busted the stitches on his neck. "Don't worry about me...I trust you. Just...hurry please?" He whispered, lifting up the blade Antonio had grabbed from the kitchen and squaring off with the door as the frenzied scratching turned into screams of hunger as a woman peered through the hole she had created in the door. "Please hurry!" He begged, the knife shuddering in his hands.

Antonio nodded and without a moment's hesitation he threw his ax out the window, took a hold of the blanket, and started hopping down the wall. For a terrifying moment it looked like the curtain rod wouldn't hold his weight, but he made it to the end of the blanket without much trouble. Unfortunately there was still a good five foot drop at the end of the blanket, which wouldn't have been an issue, except an infected man had come tearing around the side of the house. Antonio stifled a cry of fury and terror as he dropped the last few feet and had just enough time to pick his ax back up before the man was on him and he was slashing away at any exposed inch of Antonio he could, trying to get a hold of him and snag a hungry mouthful of his living flesh. "Arthur!" He called in a higher pitched voice than normal, filled with fear and determination. "Oie! Amigo, let's go!" He called as he remembered what Arthur had said about going for the head and his blade sunk deep into the man's neck.

Arthur turned towards the window just as Antonio began his struggle with the infected and the door busted open behind him. Swearing, he wrapped his knife in his coat and tossed it to the ground below. The infected woman who had first burst through the door was tangled in the sheets on Antonio's bed as Arthur started to climb shakily out the window, but managed to break free and throw herself at Arthur as he grabbed onto the window. Yelping, Arthur looked up as the woman grabbed ahold of his arm and started pulling at him fiercely, her teeth reaching for his wrist. "LET GO!" He screamed, holding onto the sheet for dear life as the woman attempted to pull him back inside. Snarling, he pulled her forward attempting to tug her from the window while his wounds roared with pain. "God damn it!" He shouted, looking down at Antonio as the man dispatched his own infected and wincing when he realized there was no way for the man to help him. Tugging himself backwards he clenched his eyes shut and slammed himself forward crushing the woman's hand against the window pane and lurching back when her grip released. Yelping, he felt himself falling away from the window into open space.

Antonio glanced up at the window with worried, confused green eyes. Where was Arthur? But hearing his voice he knew the infected must have busted open the door. He whipped his head around, surprised there weren't any others on this side of the house, not expecting that to last long at all, but thankful for the moment at least that he was relatively safe. But... how to help Arthur? His heart sank when the man began to fall. Desperately, he lunged forward to try to catch him.

Arthur felt his heart sink as he fell. Was this how he was going to die? Falling from a window being chased by the undead? It wasn't fair...it wasn't...he felt himself come to a jerking stop, the sound of a grunt of pain and a body falling to the ground filling the air. Other than the feeling of pain as his stitches pulled, he didn't hurt. Surprised, he opened his eyes and found himself staring down at Antonio's strained face. "You...caught me?" He gaped in absolute disbelief, beginning to wonder if he had somehow managed to stumble across his guardian angel.

"Mmm... Si." Antonio grunted with a strained voice, his arms shrieking in protest as the muscles in his shoulders and back took in the impact of the blonde. He almost hadn't thought he was going to catch the man in time, but there was no point in dwelling on what could have happened, especially with the sounds of hungry, crazed infected fast approaching. He set Arthur down on his feet with a shaky grin. "Alright. Vash lives three blocks away. We got to out run these things for that long. Think you can make it?"

"Yes...I...I don't really have much choice do I?" Arthur smiled shakily, using Antonio's shoulder to balance himself before taking a deep breath and taking a few hesitant steps. "Yes I'll be fine." He insisted, jumping as a loud crash filled the air and the woman he had been struggling with came crashing down onto the ground, her head splitting open with a crunch as she hit the ground. "Bloody hell..." He whispered, shuddering slightly at the blood seeping from the woman's skull. "Let's go...quickly." He mumbled edgily, scooping his knife and jacket from the ground as he stumbled after Antonio.

"Follow me then." Antonio said before breaking into a run. He was comforted in seeing only a few of the stumbling, decaying bodies of the infected on the main street, though that didn't mean much. They could be hiding after all. He sent his ax through the skull of one as they approached it , just as one across the street screamed in hunger at their appearance. Three blocks... Just three... And just to reassure Arthur as well he voiced his thought. "Just three blocks... We can make it... We can do it, just three blocks." _Just three blocks…_

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**First chapter. Go! :D So review because those are fantastic and it is always good to know how much people hate... I mean... um... yea anyway just review. :D**

**Quick note: This is a co-lab story that gets it's very own account. Weeew! SO! that being said, the two people responsible for the madness have there own accounts. Check them out sometime ;) BubbleToes313 and AceOfSpades22. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Anyone else having problems with slow profile related stuff or is it just me? Taken me an hour just get upload -_- ANYWAY! We proudly present, Chapter 2!**

**UPDATE: Now going on hour 10... Sorry guys! We were trying ALL DAY. it is now 10 at night... still can't upload. I apologize again. -Ace**

**UPDATE 2: Hey look everything is back up now that it's 1:15 in the morning on SUNDAY! Stupid fanfiction :I NOW we present chapter 2**

**Warnings: Zombies? That need to be a warning...? Kind of... implied... so that also mean some gore, some violence... some incredibly awkward people...**

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_Three bloody blocks?! _Arthur thought in dismay as he followed after Antonio as best as he could manage. He wouldn't say anything out loud, but between the fall that he swore would claim his life, and the added effect of the night before, he was struggling to keep up with the man's pace. His lungs ached from his hard run, easily bringing back the tang of irony blood in the back of his throat, his neck stung furiously as the stitches pulled with each movement. He could hardly ask for them to slow down though, not when the blasted creatures could be lurking anywhere just waiting for warm, living flesh to cross their paths and giving them something living to sink their putrid teeth into.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind as he labored behind the ax wielding Spaniard than he caught one of the stumbling creatures crawling out from under a car just as it grabbed for Antonio's ankle. "They're under the bloody cars!" He gagged as the creature's head split open with a wet crunching sound when his knife instinctively sunk deep in the creature's skull. "That's disgusting..." He swore he'd be sick as he jerked the knife free, looking a little ashen and moving into a sprint once again. "How much further?!" He demanded, the panic obvious in his voice as the creatures began peeling out from the streets, surrounding them.

Antonio jumped back, eyes huge in their sockets as he watched Arthur clean the blood and gore from his knife. He'd have been bitten just then without even realizing it until after it happened had the Englishman at his back not acted so quickly. The creatures really were coming at them from every direction now, moving out from under cars and from behind houses, stumbling off of balconies and falling to their deaths with a disturbing squelch. Curious and wondering if they had heard something rather than frenzied, though it wouldn't stay that way for long. With a stifled roar, he sent his ax cleaving the head of one of the foul creatures clean off and sending it sailing a few meters from them, breaking open as if it were an overly ripe, gore filled watermelon.

He could feel Arthur's panic rising as tangible waves of apprehension and fear buffeted him from behind. They had to be getting closer. There! He could see Vash's bland white house up the street! They were almost there. "It's just up the street! Five houses down. Arthur, we are almost there!" He cried, warily regarding each car they passed, expecting an infected to be underneath each. He prayed Vash was still alive, or, if he wasn't, that at least his house was unlocked, no matter how unlikely either would happen. As a creature barreled towards them, he slashed it open as easily as the other, another meeting their demise soon after, splattering them both with ratting flesh and questionable, oozing liquids. "Come on Arthur! Look there! This one up ahead!"

Arthur followed after where Antonio pointed cautiously, easily spotting the house when he noticed the large truck sitting in front of the building. "That house there?" He asked hopefully as they stumbled up the street, lashing out at any creatures who moved too close to them. It was hard to swallow back his gag reflex with each drop of discolored, liquefied fluids spattered his person, but it hardly mattered when his feet hit this man, Vash's, driveway. Rushing up to the truck he moved to pull open the door only to curse in hopeless, furious exasperation. "It's _locked_!" He groaned, turning towards the house. Why had he expected anything different? Unlocked with the keys in it... when had he ever been so lucky? "Do you think...he hasn't left so...do you think he's dead in there?" He rasped breathlessly, looking over his shoulder at the large house behind him.

"Guess we'll have to find out..." Antonio growled, his own panic setting in now that they very easily could be trapped. He made his way to the door and turned the knob, only to find it locked as well. Dismayed, he let a fist bang against the door, desperate for an answer. "Vash! It's Antonio. Open the door! Por favor!" There wasn't a single sound to suggest life, but knowing a few things about Vash, that wasn't surprising. The man wasn't exactly friendly, nor was he trusting. "A window. Look for a window. We might have to break into the house..."

Arthur swore and immediately moved to the window next to the door almost before Antonio's words were out of his mouth, attempting to pry it open. He swore when it wouldn't budge. "Bolted shut... was this man paranoid or something?!" He demanded furiously, lifting up a rock and hurling it at the window only to yelp as the glass shattered with a much louder crunch than he anticipated. "Umm...it's open now." He muttered, dusting the glass aside with his jacket, not wanting to cut up his hands, and poking his head in. "Hello? Anyone home? We're coming in!" He called, looking over his shoulder at Antonio when no one spoke back. "I can't hear anything...and they're coming." He whispered, looking over his shoulder at the encroaching infected, their senseless moaning slowly turning into agitated snarls and howls of hunger.

Antonio raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but grin. "Well, that's as good a way as any to break into his house. Vash is either dead or gone, we'd both be shot dead by now for that if he was still alive. Get inside before they figure out where we are..." He urged, shoving Arthur closer to the window. "Unless you rather I go first?"

Arthur looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and frown as he repositioned his jacket over the broken glass as a way of possible protection before crawling through the open window carefully. Landing with a soft noise on the other side, even knowing silence was a tad on the superfluous side, he looked around the small opening and sighed in relief when he didn't spot anything. "It's all clear...come on in quickly." He called softly out to Antonio, moving away from the window and looking around the neurotically clean house. "This man was definitely a bit OCD wasn't he? OCD and paranoid..."He muttered as Antonio scrambled in after him, pulling the drapes in front of the gaping hole where the window had been.

"He was a bit... Odd." Antonio agreed with a sigh as he shoved a bookshelf in front of the window with a grunt of effort, knocking many books to the floor and revealing... An inky black, wicked looking gun, though seeing as Antonio knew next to nothing about the lethal weapons, he had no idea what it was. "Dios mio Vash... In the bookshelf... are you..." He shook his head with an exasperated chuckle. "Where there is one, there are more..."

Arthur knelt down and scooped up the weapon, unhooking the clip from the gun so he could peer inside. He was familiar with guns, having shot them quite a bit growing up in England, but from the clueless look Antonio was shooting the weapon he figured he hadn't dealt with them much before. Sure the Spaniard had said to expect ammunitions, weapons and hopefully a safe plac for a little bit in the very least, but an assault rifle? He could hardly believe his luck, especially with hos terrible his had been as of late. "Hopefully he didn't have any children...this gun is loaded." He muttered, reattaching the clip and pulling the strap over his head. "I'll teach you... if you'd like." He pointed out, moving into the first door he found and finding himself in a well-stocked kitchen. Too well-stocked, as if the man was _prepared _for some form of apocalyptic crisis. "Holy hell...look at all this food." He pointed out, moving over to the open pantry in awe and lifting up a few cans. "We should take some of this..." He muttered looking up at Antonio. "Did you find the keys for that monster outside?"

Antonio shook his head as he followed Arthur and eyed the gun with wary eyes. "I suppose you might have to... I'm sure Vash has a few duffle bags around here. We can take some food with us and put it in the truck when we find the keys... As for kids? He had a little sister... but that's it. Suppose he'll have his keys in his room?" He asked with a raised eye brow, sounding hopelessly lost and confused as he moved deeper into the house.

Arthur glanced over at Antonio with a nod, feeling very much like the sun kissed man was childlike with how easily flustered he was getting. "If they're not in here I would assume so." He sighed, trying not to sound placating as he stood and moved over to the hall closet, pulling it open to rifle through it. Watching as Antonio made his way up the stairs he sighed and continued looking, admittedly a little worried about the man going off on his own. For a reason unknown, he couldn't shake the feeling of dread as soon as Antonio was from his sight. Pulling out a duffle bag as he tried to shake the feeling, he smiled triumphantly and moved back into the closet. "Alright...did you find them?" He called over his shoulder just over a speaking voice, still afraid that the infected would hear them. The fear of being heard by the infected wasn't too strong for him to feel the need to check up on Antonio.

Antonio was about to responded when he rounded the corner and came face to rotting, gnashing, putrid face with Vash. With a startled yelp he pulled his ax up to protect his face just as the Swiss' jaws came crashing towards his neck, leaving him doe eyed and pale with absolute, mind numbing terror. Arms wrapped around him in his moment of being stunned, and finger nails clawed into his shoulders and arms and face, all the while the unnaturally strong creature tried to munch away at him. He couldn't move in the vice like arms that were around him and he struggled fiercely with cries of anger and terror, his only saving grace was his ax. Vash was having a hard time getting past the scarred wooden handle in his mouth to bite him. "Get off! Aiee!" He cried, thrashing wildly with his heart roaring in terror.

Arthur dropped the belongings he was looting with a crash as Antonio's shouts filled the air, dreading what he might come across. He had been uneasy letting Antonio wonder off on his own, why hadn't he tried to stop him?! Turning, he sprinted up the stairs with the knife he had stashed in his belt, the gun forgotten in his haste to get to the man that had become something like his guardian angel. Spotting Antonio struggling on the floor, he snarled angrily, terrified but pumped to the bursting point with adrenaline, and slammed into the creature, but was unable to get him to release Antonio completely. "Get off of him you undead git!" He screamed, terrified at the idea of losing his only companion in this world. Pulling Vash backwards with all the force left in his arms, he remembered the weapon at his side and pulled it out slamming it haphazardly into the creature's skull only to swear as the blade slide off his head in his hurry only managing to cut into the bone a few centimeters. It took considerable acrobatics to keep the jaws from closing around the flesh of his arm is the stupid creature let go of Antonio's ax handle in favor of the distraction Arthur was presenting, not registering the new oozing wound on his forehead. Cursing and straining he pulled the creature back away from Antonio slowly and, lifting the knife once again, drove it into Vash's skull with a cry of anger. The creature slumped, motionlessly, with the blow as Arthur let out a small shuddering sigh and shoved the undead man aside, looking down at the blood soaked Antonio with wide eyes. "Are...are you ok?" He demanded, reaching out to examine the gashes on his shoulders.

Antonio was stunned and shuddering, but at Arthur's voice he seemed to pull himself together, though it clearly took some effort on the Spaniards part. In all honesty, it looked like he very well might break down and cry. His verdant eyes closed and he took deep, shuddering breathes to calm his racing heart and nerves, not wanting to stress out Arthur if he didn't have to. "Fine... I'm fine..." He whispered, not trusting his voice to speak any louder. "Gracias Arthur... You just saved my life..." And with that he paled and slumped against the wall with a choked sound, losing his calm front at the realization at just how close he had come to being one of them.

"Antonio...are you sure you're ok?" Arthur looked down at the man in concern, afraid that he had been hurt after all until he saw the terrified look on his face and understanding rushed through him. Recognizing after a moment that he was relatively uninjured he realized that was really what the problem had to be. Antonio had just taken a terrible fright. Sighing shakily, he hesitantly reached out and grasped the man's chin forcing him to look up at him. "It's alright." He whispered reassuringly, his grip tight as he held the man's face in place. "It'll be ok...like you said, we'll get out of here just fine." He insisted, forcing a smile onto his face to reaffirm his statement. He knew that this man and he were strangers, but at that moment he truly didn't care. He had been through more with him than he had with quite a few of his friends and for some reason, he trusted him every bit as much, if not more. "We're going to be _fine_."

Antonio flinched at Arthur's touch initially, but he found once he met the man's eyes he couldn't bring himself to look away. He focused on what Arthur was telling him and tried with all his heart to believe what he was saying, after all he had said the same thing before... A shudder ran through him but he slowly seemed to calm somewhat and he brought a hand up to Arthur's where it clutched his face, gently tugged at it. "I'm alright... That just... startled me a bit. Really... I'll be alright. We still have to find those keys... si?"

Arthur found himself stunned by the emotions swimming through Antonio's eyes. Completely trusting, a little lost, caring… He hadn't realized that Antonio had such brilliant eyes before...and for a moment he found himself staring at the man and truly studying his face. He was jerked out of his trance though when Antonio spoke and tugged on the hand he didn't realize was still rather gently caressing the other man's cheek. Flushing when he realized he had been staring he nodded. "I suppose we do." He sighed gently, removing his hands from Antonio's face and standing, extending a hand to help him up even though his face felt hot with a deep, rosy blush. "Do you still think they're in his room? The keys?" He asked once he helped Antonio to his feet. When he didn't get a respons from the shaken Spaniard, he opened one of the rooms and hesitated when the bright pink walls fell into sight. "Oh..." He whispered, pulling the door shut again and feeling his heart clench a little. He had a soft spot for children, and though he hadn't seen the child in the room... his realization that he had just slaughtered this little girls brother... while this little girl, monster or not, was still somewhere in the world… made him feel monstrous. "It's...not his room." He muttered sadly.

Antonio smiled a bit at the color that rose and stayed on Arthur's cheeks, and found himself thinking how attractive it was on the man. The thought startled him a bit, but he mentally shrugged it off. So he had an admiration for the man that just saved his life. It was nothing more than that.. "I hope they're in his room... If they aren't that means they're in his pocket..." And suddenly he paled again, looking dangerously close to falling back down but his eyes flashed with determination and he pushed the fear away. "That's his sister's room... I don't remember her name... She was a sweet enough girl... I can only imagine Vash got her out before himself and that's why he was turned..." He caught a flash of sorrow in Arthur's eyes and frowned in concern. "She'd... she'd understand I'm sure..." He whispered softly with a weak, reassuring smile.

Arthur nodded slowly, his hand still resting on the door handle as he shivered slightly while his mind flickered to his own family and friends miles away from where he was. "I...I'm sure." He croaked out, shaking his head and stepping away from the girl's room, unable to imagine the fear and grief the child would be feeling alone in a world like this. "Let's just...find the keys." He whispered, turning away from the door and moving to the next one slowly, pushing it open and revealing a more masculine room beyond. "Here..." He sighed, stepping into the room and peering around. Almost instantly he spotted a small key bowl and, inside it, a few separate keys. "Brilliant!" He whispered in relief, moving over to the bowl and beginning to sift through its contents. "Here...these are the keys." He smiled triumphantly as he withdrew the only car keys, turning to Antonio and pressing them firmly into his hand. "There... keep track of those." He ordered with a small, shuddering smile on his face.

"I will..." Antonio said, accepting the keys with a wobbly grin. "Did... Did you want to go back downstairs for the food or did you want to look for more guns? Most of them will be in here..." He said, emerald eyes darting around too fast to take in the room. He wanted nothing more than to get out of the house and into the relative safety of the armored truck in the drive way, but if there were still things Arthur wanted in the house, he'd wait as patiently as possible.

"I'll look for guns...or at least more ammo for this first." Arthur whispered, looking up at the man and catching the panicked look in his eyes. Frowning, he sighed and turned away, moving over to the closet and cautiously pulling it open. When it revealed nothing threatening, he sighed and flicked on the lights searching through this stranger's clothes and drawers. It was all mostly mundane things. Boxers, socks, shorts, tank tops… Shirts in the closet. Finding a jacket made of sturdy material, as well as a bag loaded with ammo and weapons just lying on the spotless floor, he smiled and dragged them triumphantly back to where Antonio was standing, staring at the door warily. "Here..." He offered, extending the jacket to the man carefully after making sure he heard him approaching. "We can run downstairs and get food now... If you'd like. Then we can leave." He decided with an encouraging smile.

"You don't have to act like I'll break..." Antonio said with a sigh as Arthur made a special effort to be sure he knew he was there. He appreciated the gesture, even if he did find it a bit unnecessary. When he turned to look at Arthur and saw the jacket he smiled, the expression small but genuine. "Gracias... Food sounds good... then we should get the hell out of here! The longer we stay..." He trailed off and let his gaze drift to where Vash lay officially dead and shivered slightly, subconsciously tightening his hold on his ax. His shoulders stung like fury and all he wanted to do was dump a bottle of peroxide over the gouges to make sure they weren't carrying some disgusting infection, but that looked unlikely to happen. "Come on..." He said after a minute, heading back downstairs.

"I just didn't want to startle you." Arthur explained as he felt a small pang in his chest when he spotted the fear in Antonio's eyes. In that moment he wanted to hug the man to him and tell him it was going to be alright, but of course common courtesy held him back. This man was a stranger... despite everything, he barely knew him. Slinging the bag onto his throbbing shoulders, Arthur followed after him slowly back down the stairs at a trot. "We'll only take what we can carry in one trip." He explained as they moved into the kitchen. "I do not want to have to run back into the house for anything once we leave... there were quite a few of those bloody things out there and I don't like our odds if something goes wrong." He pointed out calmly as they began to load freeze dried foods, cans of soup, water, and whatever else they could get their hands onto into the bag. After opening the cabinets under the deep stainless steel sink, he found a large first aid kit and smiled, tossing it into the bag. They could look at Antonio's wounds later now, when they got away.

Antonio wasn't all too sure what he wanted. To curl up and pull a blanket over his head maybe, or maybe to just die right there... But then, he knew he couldn't do that because then that would ultimately lead to Arthur's death... and Antonio really didn't like the idea of being the cause of the man's death. He wasn't quite sure why, after all he didn't know much more than the man's name... but he found himself extremely attached to the Englishman that was behind him. That in it of itself was almost more frightening than the entire zombie situation; at least the zombies he could fight off... feelings were much harder. Of course... could he just think he had a small crush on the man simply because Arthur just saved his life? It was possible, highly unlikely, but possible. It wasn't like anything would come of it anyway. Certainly not in a situation as dire as the one they had miraculously been thrown into, head first, together. "I don't know that we'll fit much more in there..." He said after a while once the bag looked like it would have issues closing, casting a grateful look at the medical kit when he spotted it.

Arthur nodded, sealing up the bag with some effort and straightened. "There... That should do it for a while at least." He sighed, smiling up at the man proudly after what they had managed to accomplish. He truly hoped that this food was all they needed before they found help or somewhere safer to stay. This much panic couldn't last very long if the military stepped in. Sighing, he caught Antonio's eyes and grinned broadly. He hated to admit it, but this man was turning out to be more of a good luck charm that anything, and was glad that it was Antonio, not someone else, who he had run into if it had to be a stranger. "Antonio...I don't know why we got thrown into this mess...but... I'm really glad that I met you." He explained happily, if not a little shyly. "If it wasn't for you...I don't think I would have made it through the night. So...thank you."

Antonio smiled brightly, momentarily forgetting his fears as he felt touched and warmed from Arthur's words. He had to admit there were very few people he'd trade Arthur for. Suddenly he found himself so full of an unexplainable happiness that he hugged Arthur for a brief minute before pulling back abruptly with a deep blush on his face. "O-Oh... Lo siento amigo... I um..." He turned away and shouldered the bag, biting his tongue against the fiery pain shooting through the gouges on his shoulders. How had he forgotten the pain, even in his embarrassment? "Come on then..." He mumbled, keeping his burning face and embarrassed eyes averted from the man.

Arthur was stunned as he felt the man envelope him in a hug. He was so unbelievably warm, and in that moment Arthur felt as though he could forget all the chaos outside. He was so shocked, feeling a dark blush fill up his cheek, he didn't think to return the hug until the man pulled away and stuttered out an apology. Standing dumbstruck he shook himself to clear his head and smiled broadly. "It's...it's alright." He chuckled looking positively thrilled by the contact. "You don't need to apologize...it was just a hug." He pointed out, pulling his own bag onto his shoulder once more and moving forward clasping the man on the shoulder gently, avoiding the gouges from the infected. "You're lucky I didn't hug you first." He laughed jokingly, trying to get him to relax as he moved to the garage. "We should... We should probably go out this way... It's a shorter run from us to the truck then."

Hug him first? Was he being serious? Surely... even if he was joking... that the comment meant he had at least though about it.. Right? Or was he reading too much into a harmless comment? The strangest mix of apprehension, disappointment and excitement churned in his stomach. It was all so confusing! Antonio just wanted to... to what? Ask him what he meant? But... wouldn't that be strange? They were strangers! And yet... could he really call Arthur a stranger at this point? Sure... They had known each other less than 24 hours... yet he trusted Arthur more than anyone and knew he'd be devastated if he died... Besides, if Arthur was a stranger, he wouldn't care so much... would he? He shook his head in confusion and kept his eyes averted, blush deepening further. "Good idea amigo... The less distance the better." He mumbled, voice trembling in embarrassment.

Arthur looked over at Antonio and frowned. Why wouldn't he look him in the eye? It wasn't like he had meant anything by the hug...had he? Was he upset that he hadn't hugged him back? Arthur turned his gaze away again when he noticed the blush still prominent on Antonio's face and bit his lip. He didn't have time to worry about it then, he would ask him later once they were safe. Pulling open the garage door, he stepped into the neatly kept area and moved up to the sealed door. "There's an emergency cord there to open the garage." He stated, pointing to the red cord hanging from the ceiling. "Opening the door electronically will be both too slow and too noisy... we should just throw it open and run. Do you have the keys?" He demanded, glancing over at the man again and feeling his heart clench when he noticed he still refused to look him in the eye.

Butterflies knocked against the sides of Antonio's stomach at the sound of Arthur's voice again and he mentally screamed at himself. He was being foolish! They were far from safe in this garage and he was focused on his school girl crush! "Si! I still have the keys." He said, carefully looking around Arthur to the red cord. He pulled the keys from his pocket and gripped them in one hand while the other held his ax. "Be ready to run then... On three... si? He said in a voice a bit louder than a mumble, though it sounded a bit off. Strained and full of forced cheerfulness... Or maybe it wasn't cheerful more than it was... positive? It was hard to say for sure.

"Yes I suppose I'm as ready as I'll ever be..." Arthur muttered, glancing over at the man with a frown. "Antonio..." He sighed when he saw how distracted the man was. That simply wouldn't do at all! Anything less than one hundred percent focus on the task at hand would get them both killed in a heartbeat! Frustrated, he stepped forward and threw his arms around the man tightly, hugging him fiercely. "You _don't_ need to be embarrassed ok? It doesn't bother me in the slightest that you wanted to hug me... we need to focus now and I don't want you worried about whether or not you upset me." He explained with a small grin, eyes stern as he pulled back, blushing softly.

Antonio felt little thrills zing along his skin as Arthur hugged him tight and suddenly he didn't feel so bad any more. He hadn't upset Arthur after all! The biggest issue now was, how on Earth was he supposed to focus now? He had the case of school girl crush bad! Well, maybe that wasn't the _biggest _issue seeing as there was still the matter of fending infection off with his torn up shoulders, living in a zombie infested world, getting to the truck in front of the house… _Dios mio that's a lot to worry about… _He smiled at Arthur regardless of his chaotic thoughts and nodded. "Good. I'm glad I didn't offend. Now... Let's get this over with."

Determined, the Spaniard walked closer to the red cord and took it in his tanned, warm hand. "One... Two..." He took a deep, shuddering breath as his heart pounded painfully hard and fast in his chest, and grit his teeth together in terror and apprehension. "Three!" The garage door flew open in one quick movement as Antonio pulled on the red cord. The sound that resulted seemed as loud as a crack of thunder and already there were infected who looked toward the garage, grumbling and growling eagerly. The grumbles quickly turned into full blown bellows of hunger and excitement at the prospect of fresh, living meat.

"God damn it all!" Arthur swore as the door swung open to reveal the large collection of the infected stumbling in the streets now entirely focused onto them. "Unlock the car and run!" He order, pulling his gun from off his shoulder and firing at an undead man who had been staggering next to the garage when it opened. Moving forward as the first screeches filled the air, he covered Antonio as the man unlocked the door with badly shaking hands. "There's a whole lot more than I remember there being last time!" He roared, throwing open the car door when Antonio unlocked the rest and tossing the bag in, firing as they lumbered towards them at a much faster pace than he anticipated. Get in the _car_!" He roared, reacting faster than he had given himself credit for as Antonio hesitated outside of the truck long enough to have to swing his monster of an ax at two of the foul creatures.

At Arthur's shouted words, Antonio threw his bag into the car along with his bloodied ax, for the first time wishing he had a more easily transportable weapon even if the ax was what he was most comfortable with. Without arguing he stumbled and tripped into the car, willing Arthur to join him as more and more of the creatures surrounded the truck, slamming against the steel frame with furious, famished snarls. With a squeak of fright, he jammed the key into the ignition with trembling fingers and gave it a sharp turn. The brute of a truck roared to life with an almost excited sounding roar, its engine sounded every bit as hungry as the infected around it. "Arthur get in! Por favor! _Get it_!" He cried, adrenaline pumping through his veins, making his already pounding heart speed to new levels of fast. As Arthur continued to shoot the snarling undead he felt the blood leave his face, terrified the man was going to get himself killed. "_Please!_" He all but sobbed, shuddering so bad he couldn't see straight.

Arthur shivered at the desperation in Antonio's voice, completely shocked in how worried and scared it sounded. Not wanting to upset the man further, he leapt into the backseat, grabbed onto the car door and slammed it shut behind him scrambling away from the door as an infected slammed up against the side of the truck. "Drive! Antonio _drive_!" He yelped, his entire body shaking with terror almost as badly as the Spaniard in the driver's seat as the infected merged to surround the vehicle. "These bastards are relentless!" He choked as Antonio pulled the car out of the driveway, squishing a few of the creatures with sickening pops and crunches until they finally reached the road. Gasping for air, Arthur placed his hands over his face with a shudder and groaned. "Let's never...ever do that again." His voice was ragged, only to be expected after fighting for his life. When he noticed how hard of a time Antonio was having hanging onto the will past his shuddering, he reached out to him and rested his hand on his shoulder. "Antonio I'm alright. You're alright… Calm down, pet." He attempted to sooth when he himself was having a hard time calming back down, eyes clenched tightly shut and breathing rapid like his heart.

Antonio was white faced and knuckled, and was trembling so bad it was a miracle he managed to drive at all. Regardless, he sped off as fast as he could coax the metal beast to go, thankful it had a full tank of gas and a gas can sat on the floor of the passenger seat. At Arthur's touch, he calmed considerable, though his emerald eyes were still bright with terror. "Can you crawl up here?" He asked after a few minutes, having calmed enough to at least speak a bit though his voice was high pitched with fear and stress. He didn't really want to be alone, and even though Arthur was right there, he couldn't see him with his own eyes, only his reflection in the rear view mirror. "I never plan to do something that stupid ever again. Ever. No no no."

Arthur slowly opened his eyes as his breathing calmed and nodded at the man's request. Sitting up stiffly, he crawled clumsily into the front seat still shuddering like a leaf as he realized how close they had been to being torn apart only a few moments before. "Are you ok?" He demanded, looking over at the man as they wove in between cars and the undead at a rapid pace. He didn't know where they were going, but as long as it was away from the city he didn't care. Looking over Antonio carefully he was relieved to find that though the man was pale and terrified he appeared to be uninjured save his lightly bleeding shoulder. Slowly his heart rate decreased as they drove until it leveled out to a more relaxing level, though it spiked again when the Spaniard didn't confirm that he was alright. "Antonio?" He pressed warily.

"S-Si…. I'm ok…. I-I…. Si…." Antonio stuttered, chewing on his lower lip until it bled, his teeth cutting through the delicate skin easily. Slowly he too relaxed, shudders subsiding for the most part, along with his rapid, ragged breathing. His eyes flitted over to Arthur as the man buckled himself in after a few minutes, the mundane action pulling a tiny, wobbly smile to his lips.

For a long moment Arthur remained unconvinced, but then a slow but very sudden realization sunk in, making his hard, worried green eyes brighten and soften into excited, exuberant emeralds. "I...I can't believe we did it." He whispered when he felt Antonio's curious, wary eyes on him, looking thrilled and a little disbelieving. "We...we got out!" He laughed wiping at his eyes. We got out of that crazy place!" He cheered happily as a few more tears streamed across his face, tears of exaltation at still being alive. "Antonio we did it! We made it out! We're ok!"

The same slow realization took hold in Antonio's eyes at Arthur's tearful, joyous words. "I... I guess we did... Didn't we?" He marveled, smiling despite himself. They were far better off now than he had dared to hope they would be. Both of them were still scared out of their wits, but that was only to be expected after all. Really... How much luckier could they have gotten? He wove expertly between stationary cars and the undead and as they got further and further from town there was less and less to dodge around until there was nothing but road and the occasional car or infected. "We are ok... I can't believe... that we are alright." He said with a smile still on his face.

Arthur's laughs had turned into full out hysterics as he sobbed and laughed into his hands. The stress of the day had been too much, and despite his best efforts he couldn't control the tears rolling down his face. "We're ok...we're ok..." He choked out repeatedly, feeling relief and distress rolling off and out of him in waves. He knew that freaking out was the last thing he needed to do in that moment, in front of Antonio nonetheless, but it was hard enough to keep it together the night before and now that they were officially safe it was too difficult to keep the tears back. "Damn it... I'm sorry..." Came a soft, shaky whisper as he tried furiously to wipe the tears from his eyes as they streamed down his face.

Antonio was tempted to stop and hug Arthur again, wanting to comfort him as he broke down, but he didn't want to risk stopping... they were still too close to the city for comfort. Instead he slowly reached out and took his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Arthur's hand was much cooler than his own, but not unpleasantly so, and the difference between their temperatures made him smile slightly, but then Arthur's soft sobs drew his attention again and he rubbed the back of the man's hand with his thumb in a soothing gesture. "Shh... Amigo it's ok. It's ok... We're are ok. Breathe si? We're alright. We are safe. Don't apologize Arthur. We are ok." He soothed, though even he still trembled and he could feel the stress take its toll on his own body. The Englishman beside him, crying the way he was, made it hard to focus on the road through his worry.

Arthur looked down as he felt Antonio wrap his hand gently around his own. Seeing their intertwined fingers, he felt his sobs quiet down to hiccups almost immediately in his wonder and surprise at the strangely intimate gesture. The soothing feeling of Antonio's finger tracing across his hand sent soft little shivers shooting down his spine, leaving him thinking. He knew that he had just met the man, but in that moment he wanted nothing but to wrap his arms around the Spaniard and hold him. His voice telling him it was ok, was more reassuring than being told the same thing by anyone else would have been. Looking up at him, he smiled softly, his lips quivering slightly and nodded squeezing Antonio's hand gently. "Thank you." He whispered, wiping at his eyes with his free hand.

Antonio smiled and glanced over at Arthur for a few seconds, feeling a faint burst of curiosity at the look in the other man's eyes. What was Arthur thinking about? "Anytime amigo." He assured with a bright smile, though, even when Arthur seemed calm enough, he wasn't in any hurry to let go of his hand. It kept him calm enough to drive and smile and think. It was hard to believe they were relatively safe for the time after everything they had been through that day after all. "You know... I'm glad you came knocking at my door... I don't think either one of us would have made it this far on our own... Thank you amigo." He said, voice soft and full of gratitude and something more. Undecipherable but there, making his fluid-like voice sound strange even in his own ears.

Arthur smiled shakily as he spoke, hearing the softness in the man's voice and the sincerity in his smile broadened. Looking down at their connected hands once again he waited for Antonio to pull away, but when he didn't he felt a small bubble of warmth fill up his stomach slowly. "I'm glad you let me in and that you didn't kick me out even though you thought I was some sort of loon…" He whispered, his voice hoarse from the day's events and edged with the exhaustion from the lack of sleep he had managed to claim the night before, but also with a ring of something endearing, adoring of the man sitting next to him. "I was starting to think that maybe you were some sort of guardian angel...seeing as you appeared out of nowhere to save my life." The admittance of such a silly feeling brought a blush to the Englishman's previously pale cheeks, not having meant to say such a thing out loud.

"An angel? Hmmm... If that's true then you must be mine... You've saved my life as well, si? I'm sorry I called you crazy at first... And I'm glad we stayed together. This would have been much harder without you!" Antonio said, a soft smile still in place. He shivered a bit at the, dare he say adoring, tone in Arthur's voice and wonder, if just maybe Arthur felt the same confusing swirl of emotions, many of them happy and bubbly and warm, when he thought about him. It was then he realized he still held Arthur's hand, but Arthur hadn't tried to pull away... He kept their hands together happily. "I'll always do my best to save your life. If you need me, I'll try my best to be there." He promised, a blush returning to his cheeks as the words awkwardly fell from his lips.

"Well...I suppose I just might be a bit crazy" Arthur chuckled, squeezing Antonio's hand gently as he grinned up at the Spaniard. He felt warm, relaxed despite everything. Everything just seemed alright now that he was safe... and with Antonio. His smile broadened as Antonio blushed softly and he found himself looking towards the window to collect his spiraling thoughts. Such color on the man's sun kissed cheeks was positively breath taking. "Well I'm not going anywhere any time soon if I have a choice...so I'll be there for you as well." He whispered, feeling the need to promise this also as he glanced back towards the madly blushing Antonio behind the wheel. "I know it's weird...but... I feel like I've known you a very long time Antonio." He mumbled, smiling a bit shyly up at the man. Despite his soft spoken words, his heart thundered furiously in his chest. What if Antonio laughed at him for saying such a thing?

"I think we both might be just a little crazy for what we just did..." Antonio conceded with a soft, warm laugh, the admission of some form of feelings Arthur was trying to get at flying right over his pretty little Spanish head. All he knew was that he felt warm, fuzzy and strangely full inside, like he couldn't hold any more emotion than what he was feeling. It was such a strange mix of things he felt deep inside. Of course he had heard Arthur's words though, even if he had taken a very literal meaning from them. A bright, borderline adoring grin spread across his face, only widening when he caught the shy smile Arthur had graced him with. "You know... I feel like I've known you for forever! I like you, amigo and I think I trust you more than anyone ever!"

Arthur beamed up at Antonio his eyes sparkling slightly when Antonio agreed that he felt similarly as he did, even if it hadn't been quite what he was attempting to hint at. Did the Spaniard want him to outright say he could have ffelings for him, or did he really not get that was what he was trying to say? Chuckling despite the conflict he felt and the questions he had, he felt a blush crawl over his cheeks, coloring them a deep crimson as he looked down at their interconnected hands. "I'm glad that you feel that way...because I feel that way too." He smiled, feeling like nothing short of a school girl admitting he had a crush, even if it was so discreetly. "You can depend on me...I'm not leaving any time soon." He promised again, his eyes filled with adoration. "As long as you don't tell me to leave... I'll be right here." Gently he squeezed Antonio's hand. He didn't care how he did it, he was going to protect this wonderful, beautiful man.

Antonio could feel his blush deepen and soon he was laughing softly, giggly and all around happy to just have this perfect little moment in the oddest safe haven in the strangest, scariest scenario ever. Was Arthur trying to flirt with him? Was that what he was doing? He really didn't know! "I will never tell you to leave. Never. I plan on making sure we survive this mess together. I'll be here for you too amigo." He promised as well, a shy, hesitantly affectionate smile on his lips. This certainly was a bad time to decide to like someone... but so long as that someone was Arthur, and he stayed around, it would be ok. Only problem was Antonio had no idea how to even begin to let the man know! He was hopeless...

Arthur beamed happily, his cheeks a fiery red as he nodded. "I'll do the same... I think we can figure this out." He murmured, running his thumb across Antonio's wrist. He couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, he was falling in love with this stranger. It was almost frightening to think that it might be true, that just when he was most likely to lose him, he had found someone he wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life with, but he chose to ignore the feeling and instead just smiled happily back at him. He didn't let go of Antonio's hand even as they stopped talking so the man could focus on the road. Only when he finally dozed off, his head resting against

Antonio's shoulder without thinking about asking, did his grip finally relax.

Antonio couldn't remember ever being happier than he was in that armored beast of a truck with Arthur resting against him. So what if his scratches throbbed angrily at him? He had this wonderful, beautiful amazing man and that was worth any amount of pain or discomfort. With soft, hesitant fingers, he brushed a stray strand of hair from Arthur's face, heart in his throat. He wasn't a flirt or a charmer! He wasn't anything but a poor, awkward man who, being in his 20's had yet to kiss anyone, let alone successfully _court_ another person! His face flooded with color and embarrassment induced heat rolled off of him. Even if he did manage, by some large help of God, he was able to successfully court Arthur, how on Earth would he keep him safe? He was a coffee shop owning, guitar player! Not hardly a fighter in any way... Suddenly though, he was very quickly swamped with fear induced images of Arthur being ripped apart by the undead. It was almost frightening enough to make him scream, but then he glanced down at Arthur and slowly calmed back down. Arthur was ok for now at least.

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**Maybe I should have warned about a character death? But... Does Vash being dead actually count? Dunno. So everyone should review. You should :) We like knowing people actually read it and don't just open the story up, go "Oh God this is awful" and close it back out. So if you'd all be so kind as to leave a review? We'd appreciate it :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**What is this? An on time chapter? No problems for this one? Huzzah!**

**Warnings: Fluffiness. Y'all got an easy chapter this week! **

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Arthur's sleep was far more restful than that of the night before. Feeling warm and protected he allowed himself to fall into sleep and stay asleep for more than the fitful hours he had gathered the night before.

Waking just as sun was falling behind the horizon he cracked open an eye and glanced around blearily, not wanting to shift Antonio's arm from around his shoulder. Looking around he found that he didn't recognize the area that they were driving through, but he could tell that they had to be somewhere in the countryside. Peeking up at the man he was amused to find that the Spaniard was so focused on the road that he took no notice of the alert Englishman under his arm. Yawning to catch the man's attention Arthur smiled and sighed heavily as the arm around his shoulders tensed slightly in surprise at the sudden noise.

"Where are we?" He questioned hoarsely rubbing at his eyes in an attempt to clear the film that filled them. "How long was I asleep?" Antonio jumped slightly when Arthur spoke, but smiled down at him happily, amused with himself for being startled.

"It's good to see your eyes again. I was starting to think you'd never wake up. *He teased softly, though in all honesty he was glad Arthur had been able to sleep for as long as he did. "I'm not entirely sure where we are. I have a vague idea though…I'm pretty sure we're pretty close to the middle of nowhere." He joked halfheartedly, too tired to really laugh at his own attempt at humor. "As for how long you've been sleeping? A little more than five hours."

"Five hours?" Arthur grumbled sitting up stiffly and adjusting his seat belt so it fit more comfortably around his shoulder. He had only meant to nap, he hadn't meant for Antonio to be alone for that long. "How are we doing on gas? You want me to drive? *He asked reaching into the backseat and pulling a water bottle from the bag. Taking a drink he sighed and extended the bottle to Antonio. "Or maybe we should just find a place to stay for the night?" He suggested scanning through the surrounding area with a discerning eye before he reverted his gaze back onto Antonio with a small adoring smile. "I honestly didn't mean to sleep that long...how are you doing?" Antonio laughed at the small tirade and shook his head.

"Truthfully? I'm exhausted and my mind keeps conjuring horrible images of what could happen to us... but then I realized you were right there, and that we were safe, and I realized that there was nothing to worry about until the next time we run into…whatever those things are." Catching the worried look in Arthur's eyes he shook his head and grinned at the Englishman. "I'm alright, I promise." Antonio insisted with a smile as accepted the water bottle and took a sip from it.

Thinking to Arthur's other questions he couldn't keep himself from frowning. Gas was running a bit low, which wasn't terribly concerning because they had more, but what happened when they run out of the extra fuel? He sighed but regained his smile after a minute.

"Whichever you prefer I am ok with. If you want to keep driving, then we'll keep driving. If you want us to stop for the night, then we can stop." Arthur nodded at the choices and frowned slightly in thought.

"Why don't you pull over and let me drive? I'll try to find a place for us to sleep while you rest for a bit." *Arthur suggested after a moment, feeling a small pang of...something when Antonio mentioned that he was worried about him. Beaming happily when Antonio's faltering smile regained its strength he accepted back the water bottle and recapped it placing it in between them in the large cup holders. "You've been driving all day. Even if you don't sleep I'd rather you let me take the wheel? The last thing we need is to have an accident out here in the middle of nowhere with those creatures running around." He pointed out when Antonio seemed reluctant to pull over. "Just find a nice open area. If we need to we can even sleep in the car. It'll be cramped but I think we can manage."

It took a few minutes, but after a few more insistent looks from Arthur, Antonio reluctantly pulled over and looked over at Arthur with a slight frown.

"You sure you'll be ok to drive? I think I can keep going for a while yet amigo. Really don't worry about me..." Antonio attempted before a yawn revealed his lie and Arthur raised a judgmental eyebrow. "Well...you know maybe I should let you drive." He sighed reluctantly. "Where are you planning on having us stop though? I doubt there is much out there for quite a ways yet." Arthur thought for a moment, but didn't need much time to make a decision as he thought on it.

"We'll just keep heading further out into the countryside. Hopefully we'll hit a military outpost or something between here and there." He pointed out once he had solidified his idea in his head. "There will be gas stations out that way, and like I said: we can sleep in the car if necessary, and I did get a rather long nap I'm sure I should be fine for the rest of the night." Arthur explained, unclipping his seat belt and opening the car door.

Groaning as he stepped outside he stretched and felt few bones pop out of the uncomfortable sleeping position he had taken up. Muttering to himself he glanced back at the car where Antonio was still sitting and gestured for him to step out and stretch. Taking a moment to look around him he found that Antonio was right: there was nothing around them for miles.

As far as he could see, open plains and wooded areas stretched on for miles. It was both a blessing and a curse, they were far away from the zombies, but also a decent time away from any gas stations or potential run ins with people. Glancing over his shoulder he leaned against the side of the truck with a heavy sigh once Antonio stepped free from the driver's seat stiffly.

"Tell me...how are we on fuel? Should we fill up the tank while we're stopped?" He asked curiously, not wanting to have to stop again after dark if they didn't have to.

"We have a little less than a quarter tank it might not be a bad idea to fill up." Antonio stated as he came to stand beside Arthur. Stretching the stiff muscles in his neck and back he winced a bit, muttering sleepily under his breath as he examined the area where they had stopped.

It was strange; standing in the middle of nowhere like they were it was hard to remember there were more than two people left in the world. Then again, he had no way of knowing if they _weren't_ the last people alive.

"I feel so... alone. *He said after a minute, moving closer to Arthur unconsciously. "It feels like we could easily be the last two people alive, though I pray to God that's not true." As Antonio spoke, Arthur brought his attention back to the Spaniard and smiled sadly nodding in a glum agreement.

Let's hope that we're not. *He whispered, hesitantly reaching out as Antonio approached and brushing some of the chocolate colored hair out of his verdant eyes.

He knew that as strange as the day had been it was entirely possible that he and Antonio were the last people in the area at least. He didn't remember seeing a single living person as they drove through town in an area as densely populated as the outskirts of a large city. It was a disturbing thought, but not having seen anyone made his chest feel a bit tight and his stomach churn sickeningly.

"We'll be ok... I'm sure that the military has a base set up somewhere, or that there are other people nearby that we just haven't seen yet." He pointed out encouragingly hoping to raise Antonio's spirits if he couldn't raise his own.

Antonio smiled weakly and nodded, a flash of warm bubbling in his stomach as Arthur brushed hair from his face with a couple pale fingers. They couldn't be the last two alive...That just wasn't possible. Surely there had been other people who had outsmarted the creatures? They just had to find them. The more people they grouped up with the easier it would be to stay alive, but then again that was just a theory.

"I'm sure you are right. We can't be the last two people." He nodded before bringing his hand up to catch Arthur's with a smile before the Englishman could pull away. "How about we fill the beast up with gas and keep going for a bit?" He suggested amused when he spotted a faint blush form on Arthur's cheeks.

"You're right...there has to be at least a couple people as lucky as we are out there." Arthur chuckled and nodded, the knots in his stomach disappearing as Antonio wrapped his warm fingers around the hand that Arthur had placed against his cheek. "I suppose we might as well keep going." he sighed removing his hand from Antonio's face reluctantly and moving over to the car.

Throwing open the door to the back seat he looked down at the jugs of Gasoline with a calculating eye and hauled it out of the car with a grunt.

"There's only enough gas in here for one full tank." He pointed out. "Enough to make it to the next town at least...I think." He muttered unscrewing the lid from the gas can and starting to fill up the car. Antonio shrugged leaning against the side of the car.

"That's all the further we need to make it to get more, si? Maybe we'll find more people in the town over too..." He said encouragingly, glancing over at Arthur out of the corner of his eye. "Though we probably don't want to head into a town anywhere near dark: Something tells me these things would be harder to fight when we can't see very well..." he reasoned as he watched for any infected as Arthur filled the car.

"I can agree with that...never been a big fan of the dark in the first place." Arthur murmured shivering a bit at the idea of running away from the undead creatures in the dark when fighting them in the day time was already so horrible. "If there are people in this next town, how will we know if they're friendly or not?" He asked cautiously as the last of the gas dribbled into the tank. Moving away from the tank after shaking out the remnants he reattached the lid to the jug and tossed it into the back seat before turning back to Antonio. "I mean you've seen how people act times of crisis...what if they attack us?" He demanded his face not concealing his worry as well as he had hoped. Antonio frowned a bit and gently rested his hand on Arthur's shoulder.

"Well, then they attack us, but somehow I think people will be easier to talk to than you think... Would you attack another living person in a time like this? I know I wouldn't. We'll just have to be careful is all." He said softly, wanting to calm Arthur's worries as best he could.

"I suppose you're right." Arthur sighed looking back at Antonio with a small frown still on his face. "But we should be careful...we haven't gone this far just to get killed by some psychopath with a hand gun." He pointed out reaching out and pulling aside Antonio's jacket so he could look at the scratches on his shoulder. "We should clean these..." He muttered almost to himself, eyeing the blood caked around the angry looking red wounds "Would you mind if we patched you up before we moved on? I don't know when we'll get another chance." he explained studying the wounds with a frown on his face "We can't risk infection... especially since we don't have any antibiotics."

"I…I guess so." Antonio said hesitantly, looking around them again. He didn't like being out in the open, even if it did seem like they were relatively safe where they were. "But quickly... I don't like being stopped. At least the car offers protection..." He said, biting the inside of his lip nervously. "I'm sure they are fine though... they sting but that's expected after all..."

"Sit down...I'll only take a minute I promise." Arthur insisted pulling open the passenger side door and forcing Antonio to sit before moving into the back seat and fishing the first aid kit out of the center counsel." In my opinion…sitting in an area in the open right now is much safer than anywhere else. We can see for miles from here." He pointed out gesturing for Antonio to take off his shirt while he rifled through the items in the kit and producing a few bandages and some antiseptic wipes "If you cooperate we'll get moving a lot faster." He pointed out knowingly chuckling when Antonio grumbled something under his breath, but removed his shirt.

The small pained noise that fell almost unwilling from Antonio's lips when he lift the fabric over his head made it pretty clear that Arthur had a point. They probably should at least try and bandage the wounds. From where they were sitting, they could easily see if any of the creatures were coming, and they could be safely in the car long before any of them were close enough to do any harm. Shivering a bit as cool air swirled around his now bare torso and little goose bumps rose up on his sun kissed skin Antonio crossed his arms over his chest to bite back the chill.

"Here is as good as any place..." He relented, glancing back at Arthur with a sigh.

Arthur would be the first to admit that he was stunned for a moment when Antonio tugged his shirt off revealing his well-toned chest and abs. Feeling yet another blush curling onto his face it took him a moment to realize that he was staring and yet another before he remembered why he told Antonio to take off his shirt in the first place when he spotted the angry red gouges on his shoulders, neck, and chest glaring back at him angrily.

"I think these might scar." He pointed out after regaining his composure and setting to work cleaning the wounds gingerly with a feather light touch "We'll be matching then..." he teased softly his free hand flickering up to his injured neck as he cleaned the blood from Antonio's neck. "Do they feel warm at all? We should have dealt with these yesterday...they're red which makes me think that you might have some sort of an infection and that worries me." He rambled in order to fill the eerie silence filling the air around them.

"If they scar then they scar. I don't know if they feel warm, you are the one touching them, not me. If they are infected then we just have to hope I don't die from it." Antonio responded back, not at all positive sounding, surprisingly enough, but realizing he didn't sound very nice he looked down and sighed. "Lo siento, I just don't like getting hurt." He sighed heavily. "Try not to worry too much. They are fairly new yet and new wounds always are ringed with red and angry looking." He winced as Arthur brushed past a particularly painful scratch and he bit his tongue to hold back the soft whimper he could feel trying to escape from his throat.

"It's alright...you're tired and in pain. I understand that you'll be a bit grumpy." Arthur chuckled continuing his gently cleaning only to hesitate when Antonio flinched. "I'm sorry...did I hurt you?" *He demanded looking up at him with worried eyes and earning a pained, but reassuring smile in return. "You're lucky he didn't do any more damage than this...he was strong for as small as he was." He pointed out with a smile on his face as he pulled out a patch of gauze and placed it over the gashes on Antonio's shoulder before taping the patch down with a sigh.

It took him a good twenty minutes to clean and dress all the wounds on Antonio, but once he finished he was satisfied that they didn't seem infected. Giving him one last look over he smiled and nodded proud that he had managed to bandage all the wounds with limited effort.

"Alright...I think I'm done. How does it feel now? I think there was some ibuprofen in the bag if you need it." Arthur pointed out eyeing the man discerningly as he searched for any further injury his hands ghosting across a few bruises on his shoulder with a frown.

"It feels better now, more just a sting than any actual pain. *Antonio said his voice relieved as he tested out his newly bandaged shoulder.

He shivered a bit at the light fingertips that feathered across the bruises on his shoulder and half closed his eyes. It felt strangely... nice to have Arthur's hands touching him. A deep blush flooded his face at the thought as his mind wandered, and he quickly averted his gaze, though he glanced up at Arthur through his eyelashes with a shy smile after a moment. "Gracias… For taking care of me."

Arthur couldn't help but notice the small shivers moving through Antonio's skin as he touched him and felt the blush already on his face curl up into his ears. Smiling happily back at him, he retracted his hand a bit reluctantly from Antonio's warm skin and sighed in relief that he wasn't in pain.

"As I remember it...you took care of me first." He pointed out flushing shyly and cleaning up his mess replacing the medical kit into the back seat. Finished, he turned to face Antonio whose eyes were following after him slowly in a curious fashion. "Are you...umm...ready to leave?" he demanded flushing as he realized just how intimate the contact between them had actually been.

Antonio found himself trailing Arthur's every move with his eyes as the man moved around to pick up. He admired the way the late afternoon sunlight shown in his tousled blonde hair, and how the warm blush on his cheeks made the Spaniard's heart clench and the butterflies rise up in his stomach. He had savored the feeling of Arthur's cool fingers gently probing at his injuries more than he probably should have, and was struck by the pang of longing that shot through him when he had pulled away. He knew he was staring, and yet he couldn't pull his eyes away. Not that he had any particular desire to. He was so caught up in his thoughts he jumped when Arthur spoke.

"Oh... Um I guess I did... Didn't I? I... Arthur?" He started, but before he could speak his mouth seemed to dry, his heart beat too quickly, the blush in his cheeks flamed impossibly redder and... he chickened out. "I guess I'm ready to go... If you are that is..." Arthur blinked, waiting for Antonio to finish his statement as he stared back at him hopefully.

Hopefully? What was he hopeful for? His stomach was tying itself into knots as he stared up at the man whose face was flushed to an almost impossible shade of red, and he couldn't help but be disappointed when the man finally turned away with a defeated look in his eyes.

"I'm ready to leave if you are. I know how much you hate being in the open." Arthur smiled shakily moving to walk towards the driver's seat only to hesitate. "Antonio...what were you going to ask?" he asked quietly turning back to Antonio with a quizzical look on his face. He really wanted to know what made the man look so flustered. "I promise I won't be upset...what is it?" he asked smiling encouragingly.

"I... Um... It wasn't a big deal or anything amigo." Antonio stuttered with a wobbly smile. His emerald eyes were bright and it was clear there was something he wanted to say, but he just couldn't get the words out.

Arthur said he wouldn't be upset... but how did he know? What if Antonio did say something to upset him? His heart clenched painfully in his chest at the thought of Arthur being upset at all let alone upset with him. No, he couldn't do it. Emerald eyes flitted up to Arthur's smiling face and away again, fixing themselves safely out the window.

Arthur sighed when Antonio seemed reluctant to say anything further. He felt a horrible pang of disappointment fill his chest as he nodded and moved into the driver's seat closing the door behind him.

"Alright then…" He whispered starting the truck and pulling out onto the road once again. "Why don't you get some sleep? You seem sort of flushed." He pointed out glancing shyly over at the man as he moved into a cruising speed his eyes focusing onto the endless stretch of road ahead of them. "I'll let you know if we reach anywhere we can stop to rest...or gather supplies...or if anything seems important enough to wake you."

Antonio cursed himself mentally with every foul name he could muster when he caught sight of a disappointed gleam in Arthur's eyes. He somehow knew he really could tell him anything. so why was he so hesitant in just admitting he... admitting he might...

He sighed softly; frustrated he couldn't even think the words to himself. Maybe he really did need sleep. When he woke up surely he'd be able to talk to Arthur then? Miserably he looked out the window, somehow knowing it wouldn't be any easier to say no matter how long he waited.

"Ok, but don't hesitate to wake me up if you need me...for any reason ok? *He said with an unconvincing smile. He just needed to spit it out... 'Arthur. I like you.' see? Not so hard... but it was hard: Harder than fighting a zombie, or staying calm, or getting supplies...

"I promise I will." Arthur chuckled, his hand reaching out to turn on the heater as he glanced over at the conflicted looking Antonio. Frowning slightly he fought the urge to reach out and take the man's hand, but knew it was best to leave him alone if he was going to try and sleep. "If you'd like you can use my jacket... the window is sort of uncomfortable." He pointed out feeling the flustered vibes rolling off of Antonio in his own mind as he peered out into the increasingly dark night. "Or you can use my shoulder...you let me use yours." He smiled warmly attempting to catch the man's eyes but finding them stubbornly glued to the window. "Are you sure you're ok?"

No! He wasn't ok at all! Antonio just wanted to... To what? He didn't even know...

With a deep breath he turned from the window and fixed Arthur with his emerald green eyes, an intense, unnamed emotion in there bright green depths. A blush was already on his face as he opened his mouth to speak, and again his heart started thundering away until he was sure Arthur would be able to hear it, but it didn't matter. If he didn't say it now, he'd never say it.

"Arthur... I.. Um..." He trailed off, but then he remembered the soft, shy smiles and the glow of adoration he had seen in this man's eyes, and thought maybe, just maybe Arthur felt the same way he did. Of course he could be wrong. "I like you." He blurted out, eyes flying wide as he realized he had actually said it.

Arthur felt his face turn an entirely new shade of red as he saw Antonio struggling over what he was trying to say. When he finally spoke though, he felt his heart jump into his throat.

Did he...did he just...maybe he meant it in a friendly way? But why would he be so flustered if he meant it in a wholly friendly fashion?

Flustered and confused he struggled to come up with a response and realized he might be taking too long to respond. Antonio's eyes were filled with such...emotional turmoil that Arthur felt himself freezing. Afraid that his distraction might lead him to crashing into something he pulled off to the side of the road and took a deep breath. Turning to Antonio he smiled shakily and sighed.

"I like you too Antonio." he whispered shyly his hands fidgeting in his lap as he struggled to figure out what he should do next.

Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe Arthur didn't like him too. The stunned, flustered look on his face only served to confirm Antonio's heart breaking suspicions.

He was so stupid! They barely knew anything about each other! Why would he think... but then they were pulling off the road and Antonio glanced over at Arthur in confusion. It took a long while for him to realize what Arthur was saying to him, but when he did a smile, warm and affection spread across his face, though his cheeks still burned bright red.

"Really?" He asked in a hushed voice, his heart all but exploding out of his chest with his excitement and happiness at his words.

"Yes...really." Arthur chuckled watching happily as a warm smile spread across Antonio's face. "I suppose it has something to do with the whole end of the world thing...but I'm finding that I really don't have the time to ask you out on a date or bring you presents which would probably be more acceptable in a normal setting." He flushed, unable to meet Antonio's gaze as he explained himself shyly "I know we just met each other, but I've been through more with you in the past two days than anyone else I know. I'm not afraid to say that I care about you." He whispered glancing up at him through his eyelashes and finding that Antonio's eyes were filled with a strange mixture of emotions that left Arthur's stomach churning.

"I think these last two days have been long enough to cover two lifetimes" Antonio chuckled softly averting his gaze for a moment. "As for the date and such, the end of the world sort of puts a rather large dent in that plan. We just might have to survive this whole thing first." Antonio said with a smile, adoration clear in his gaze. "I care about you too." His voice was soft as he spoke, and seemed to all but radiate with happiness and affection.

Arthur chuckled and nodded his eyes glancing down at his hands as he struggled to find out how to respond to the man. Looking up after a moment he steeled himself and smiled. Leaning forward he gently kissed the man on the cheek, barely brushing his lips against the skin before pulling back and lowering his eyes onto the steering wheel.

"We should probably get going..." He pointed out fidgeting slightly as he glanced over at Antonio. "We still need to find someplace to sleep." He stammered out not daring to meet Antonio's eyes in his embarrassment. Why was he so stupid? Stupid stupid stupid! He just said he liked him and there he was kissing him on the bloody cheek?

Antonio's eyes were wide, but a soft, wondering smile quirked at his lips. He hadn't dared to hope for such a sweet gesture, and having received the soft kiss on his cheek he felt like he had been given a precious gift. But when he tried to meet Arthur's eyes, he found that the man wouldn't look at him and he felt panic claw at his chest.

Why was he so flustered? Why wouldn't he meet his eyes? Surely Arthur wasn't cruel enough to just mess with his feelings? But, perhaps he was just embarrassed and flustered? Antonio himself had been in a similar situation after all, but how to reassure Arthur that it was ok? He could only think of one thing. Slowly he leaned over to him and cupped his face with gentle hands, forcing the Englishman to look at him before very slowly leaning in and kissing him softly.

"It's ok. You don't have to be embarrassed amigo." He whispered once he slowly broke the soft kiss his thumb brushing across Arthur's flushing cheek.

Arthur was about to apologize for his stupid and rash action when he felt Antonio's hands cup his cheeks gently. Glancing up at him in confusion he was stunned to find Antonio leaning in. Surely he wasn't going to...Arthur was quickly corrected as Antonio pressed his lips against his gently.

Stunned, Arthur felt a surge of electricity shoot through him as his eyes flew open in surprise and he melted into the kiss that ended much too quickly.

"I...I..." He stammered his face crimson as Antonio reassured him with a small smile on his face. Grinning stupidly he brought his hand up to his lips and ran his fingers over the spot where Antonio's lips had been moments before. Was it wrong to think that was the best kiss he had ever received? He didn't think so... Flushing he leaned into Antonio's hand and nodded. "Alright...I believe you now." he laughed embarrassedly.

Antonio laughed warmly at the comment his eyes dancing with amusement as he pulled retracted his hand. Was it possible Arthur was even redder than before?

"Good. I'm glad you believe me, otherwise I might of had to do it again." He teased though he wasn't sure he was actually opposed to that, after all that had been the best kiss of his life, even if it was short. It had been sweet, loving, and perfect.

"Don't let my belief stop you..." Arthur muttered almost under his breath as he turned back to the wheel and pulled out onto the road with the furious blush still on his cheeks knowing they couldn't afford to stay on the side of the road much longer.

Moving down the road he caught himself glancing over at Antonio every couple of seconds before he gave in and reached out taking the man's hand in his own bringing their hands to rest on the center council.

"You should try to sleep...I'll wake you up when we reach a safe place to stop." he murmured tracing his thumb across Antonio's wrist as he smiled fondly back at the man his heart still thundering in his chest.

Antonio looked down at their intertwined fingers and smiled before he rested his head against Arthur's shoulder finally ready to give up the battle of staying awake.

"Alright, but if you need me wake me up..." He said in a voice already slurred by sleep. He kept the hands together even after he had drifted off, though his grip was loose in sleep. He slept fitfully, but there was one time, after perhaps an hour or so, that the word 'Arthur' slipped from his lips in a soft, loving whisper.

Arthur had to admit he must have had a stupid grin on his face every time Antonio murmured his name in his sleep. Humming happily he found himself in a sort of daze.

Antonio kissed him...he actually kissed him!

He was so distracted by his thoughts and the lack of objects to look at that in a moment of habit he slipped into the opposite side of the road not thinking twice about the action on the abandoned road. Almost dozing himself, he almost didn't see the oncoming car until it was too late.

Yelping when a horn blared ahead of him and a pair of blinding headlights filled the cabin, he jerked the wheel to the side and skidded off the road coming to a screeching stop just as the other car pulled to as stop behind them.

"Bloody hell! Antonio are you ok?" He gasped, his hand clenched around Antonio's hand with enough force to strain his hand

Antonio was jostled awake roughly by the sudden swerve off the road, a seat belt burn forming over his collar bone almost instantly.

His emerald eyes had lost all pretense of sleep and were wide as he looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Arthur?! What's..." He began only to cut off with a yelp as a rather furious looking woman with what appeared to be a large iron skillet in her hands came to stand outside his window. He turned to look at Arthur, only to find a silver haired man outside his window as well, tapping a gun against the glass.

What was it Arthur ad said about strangers that might want to kill them?

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**Hey guys, thanks to those who left wonderful reviews! A couple people now have said they don't like zombies but are planning to stick around so... you guys are awesome and thanks! Hope this chapter was up to par! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello hello! Guess what today is~? Update day! :D We proudly present chapter 4!**

**Warnings: Hostile confrontations and nervous men.**

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In his lifetime, Arthur had dealt with many situations that he would consider high stress, but facing down the barrel of a gun as a crimson eyed man scowled at him was something completely out of the norm. Shuddering violently, Arthur wasn't sure if this was already the end of the line for both himself and Antonio, or if they were going to be able to weasel their way out of the situation like they had back in the city.

Arthur was frozen, he didn't know what to do. Antonio had gone ridged beside him with worry, and was glaring back at the woman at his window while also trying to keep track of the man with the gun leveled off at Arthur's head. The thoughts that were screaming in Arthur's head were telling him to protect Antonio. His mind was blatantly saying that even if he died, he needed to make sure that Antonio made it out. Flinching when the man tapped at the glass impatiently with the flashlight he was using to peer inside the car, Arthur felt his heart fluttering rapidly in his chest.

"Get out of the car with your hands up! If I so much as see you reach for your weapons so help me I will blow your brains out." The man at his window snarled furiously in a rough German accent when he saw Arthur's eyes flicker towards the gun on the dash. When Arthur seemed reluctant to move out of the car, the man's eyes flashed impatiently and for a second Arthur thought he might shoot him right then and there. "I said…out of the car."

"It's ok amor…just listen to what he says." Antonio murmured softly, squeezing the Brit's hand he opened his own door and stepped out onto the street with his hands on top of his head. "Vale vale, see? I'm not armed." He announced, nodding his head when the woman gestured for him to move in front of the car.

"Now you Blondie, get out of the car and no one will get hurt." The German barked, stepping back when Arthur shakily reached to the door and stepped out of the car his hands moving behind his head. Shooting a glance at Antonio he locked gazes with a forcefully calm pair of verdant eyes trying to silently convince Arthur that everything would be ok.

Arthur flinched slightly when the albino holding him at gun point scanned him over for weapons other than the one resting in the truck. Finding none that were noticeable he gestured at Arthur again.

"If you have any weapons…I suggest you tell me right now, because if I find any I'm going to kill you right here." He ordered his eyes narrowed as he scanned Arthur over.

"I…I don't have any." Arthur rasped, his hands shuddering as they rested on the back of his head. When the man looked unconvinced he went to empty his pockets for him only to flinch when the man shook his head.

"Why don't you just keep your hands right where I can see them for now? Go ahead and step over there by your friend." The demon eyed man ordered, waiting until Arthur timidly moved over to Antonio his entire body trembling with fear.

Stepping around so that he was standing in front of them, the man scanned them both over curiously and frowned when his gaze fell onto the bandages wrapped around the Spaniard's shoulder.

"What happened there? Are you bit?" The man demanded his eyes suddenly dramatically more cautious than they had been before. Flinching, Arthur inched closer to Antonio, stepping in front of him slightly when he saw the German's finger twitch on the trigger of his gun.

"Bit? What are you talking about?" Antonio demanded his eyes flashing worriedly as Arthur stepped in front of him. Keeping an eye on the German and the brunette woman beside him, Antonio could feel his heart thundering in his chest as the man raised an eyebrow.

"I'm asking if those bandages are there because you've been bit. It's a fairly simple question I think, and you'd better tell me the truth, because I guarantee I will not give you a second chance." Arthur flinched at the albino's harsh statement and moved his hand to grab nervously onto Antonio's wanting to know that the Spaniard was close. Feeling the Spaniard squeeze his hand, Arthur felt a surge of desire to protect the man fill up his chest. Glancing up at the glaring red eyed man he sighed.

"We don't understand what you're asking…but if you want to know how we were injured, it wasn't because of anything biting us. We were attacked yes…but not bit." He stated as calmly as he could his hand shuddering against Antonio's palm. Keeping a stern, but not aggressive look on his face, he glanced back at the young pair and narrowed his eyes. "Now…if you don't actually mean us any harm, please…would you put your weapons away and attempt to act like civilized human beings?" The German at first seemed to take offense to the Brit's comment, and stepped forward menacingly only to stop when a hand snagged onto his arm and pulled him back.

"Gil…please." The brunette woman who had been watching the whole exchange whispered as she squeezed the man's arm. "They obviously don't mean us any harm…and if they don't know about the biting then they must not be really aware of what's happening. You aren't like those men back in the city, so put the gun down and talk." She whispered shooting an apologetic look back at the two nervous looking men.

Antonio, who had been thinking of ways he could get the gun away from the German without managing to get both himself and Arthur shot, relaxed only when he saw the albino place the gun back into his holster his hand resting on the grip just to be safe. Sighing in relief, Antonio pulled Arthur back behind him and shot a worried glance at the man checking for injuries without taking his gaze off of the pair in front of them. Smiling shakily at Arthur when a pair of emerald eyes flickered up towards him, he squeezed his hand before returning his full attention back to the silent pair.

Sighing heavily at the woman's request, the German nodded and shot a glance at the two men. Nodding at the woman at his side, he stepped forward and extended a hand towards Antonio.

"I'm Gilbert…Gilbert Beilschmidt, and this is my wife Elizabeta He…well I guess it's Beilschmidt now." He laughed nervously glancing down at the cautious brunette man's hand when it seemed hesitant to reach up and shake his waiting hand. "Es tut mir leid…I'm sorry for scaring you like that." The man murmured as the Spaniard reached out and shook his hand slowly one hand remaining firmly connected to Arthur's. Stepping back once he had finished that, Gilbert ran his fingers through his tousled hair and looked exhaustedly up at the two men. "You'll have to excuse my rudeness, but when we were trying to escape town we ran into some pretty nasty characters…" He shook his head shooting a glance at Elizabeta. "They tried to take my wife away from me…I had to make sure you weren't a…well you weren't a threat, but I guess if you're already in a relationship…at least I don't have to worry about that one, right?" He pointed out, glancing down at the combined hands of the two men and glancing up at them with a shaky smile.

Arthur felt himself flush in realization when the man made the assumption that they were a couple. Then again…were they a couple? He supposed that they were a couple of sorts. Glancing up at Antonio, he waited for the man to respond to the question wanting to see how or if he would claim him.

"It's fine…after the day we had I suppose it's to be expected that someone would wave a gun in my face." Antonio laughed humorlessly, glancing down at Arthur when he caught the man looking up at him. "Si, you don't have much to worry about from us." Antonio chuckled, "I'm Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, and this is mi novio Arthur Kirkland." He pointed out, glancing down at Arthur to make sure that the man didn't seem upset with the title. When the man seemed rather pleased with the statement, his face tinted pink, Antonio turned his full attention to the rather relieved looking Gilbert.

"I can honestly say that I've never been happier to hear that…" Gilbert laughed shaking his head as he wrapped an arm around Elizabeta's waist and leaned against her with a tired, worn look on his face.

"Where are you boys headed? You must not be coming from any of the major cities if you don't know what Gilbert was talking about when he spoke about the bites, and if you're headed that way I'm guessing you don't know how bad that West side of Germany has gotten." Elizabeta pointed out, running a hand over her husband's back. Arthur shook his head at the comment, feeling his stomach drop when he heard what she had to say about the direction they were headed.

"No…we don't know what this whole bite thing is about, and…is there any place that doesn't have those…things?" The Englishman demanded as he shot a glance in the direction they were headed for. Gilbert sighed and shook his head.

"We're headed north, towards the border between us and Denmark. We're attempting to meet up with some family members that were headed up there." The German explained as he squeezed his wife's waist gently. "As for the bites." He sighed as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "Let's just say if one of those bastards sinks their disgusting teeth into you, you're dead in as little as five minutes. I've seen it take longer…It depends on the placement of the bite. If you do get bit, I suggest you off yourself right then and there because the next thing you know you'll be up and walking around trying to sink your teeth straight into the person closest to you." He pointed out gruffly, gesturing to Antonio as if to make a point.

Arthur felt his blood chill at the thought, his hands shuddering as he clung onto Antonio with a new sense of urgency. They could become one of those things? The thought was mortifying. He could very easily be the person who ended up killing Antonio because he had done something as simple as getting bit.

"That's…terrible." Arthur rasped his entire form quaking as he slumped a bit against Antonio. Gilbert and Elizabeta nodded their eyes somber as they exchanged glances.

"Ja, it is…now…where was it you said you were headed?" Gilbert demanded as he studied over the two men in front of them.

"Nowhere as of yet…we were just taking the back roads, hoping we ran into the military." Antonio muttered, grimacing when he realized how unprepared they sounded. For all they knew, they were headed towards some massive horde of those monsters they had seen back in the suburbs.

"I see…" Gilbert muttered, glancing down when his wife pulled at his sleeve. "What is it liebe?" He demanded, frowning slightly when he saw that she was already looking hopefully up at him.

"They should follow after us! Gilbert we can't just let them go wandering around until they run out of gas! They'll starve or get picked off by one of the infected." She pointed out, glancing apologetically over at the men at the bashing of their survival skills. "Please Gil? I know you don't want to trust strangers, but don't you think that traveling in a group of four would be so much safer than traveling in a pair like we have been?" She muttered softly, squeezing his hand and beaming when he groaned and nodded.

"Fine…if you two want to tag along, I won't mind. We could use the extra truck anyway just in case something happens to ours." He pointed out with a heavy sigh, rolling his eyes when Elizabeta pressed a kiss to his cheek and muttered a quiet thank you. He still didn't trust the men, but if his wife was so sure that they could trust them, at least enough to follow them without attempting to attack them, he supposed that he wouldn't mind having the extra hands around.

Antonio glanced at Arthur, not sure if the Brit would be ok following the couple to wherever it was they were headed, but found the man was nodding up at him when he looked down.

"We don't really have anywhere else to go, love…" Arthur reminded him softly worried that like Elizabeta had stated they would just keep on driving until they either ran out of supplies or got jumped by either infected or bandits. "We don't have to follow them forever, just until we have a plan of our own." He pointed out. Antonio nodded and glanced up at the German and his wife once again, with a sigh.

"Si…if you don't mind we would love to follow after you until we figure out what we want to do." The Spaniard explained, earning a nod from the couple who immediately headed back towards their car, not wanting to keep standing outside in the dark.

"Keep up then." The German called over his shoulder as he swung into the driver's seat of the massive truck. Antonio grimaced and glanced back at Arthur who was starting to move towards the driver's seat.

"Are you ok to drive?" Antonio demanded softly, earning a nod from Arthur.

"Of course, you didn't get to sleep very long. I'll drive and you can try and get some sleep." The Englishman pointed out with a small nervous smile as he moved behind the wheel.

Shuddering softly Arthur shot a glance at Antonio and reached out to take his hand once the man was situated inside the car. Running his thumb over the man's wrist as he pulled back onto the road close behind Gilbert he sighed shakily and attempted to pretend that he hadn't almost been killed in a roadside dispute.

"It'll be ok, amor." Antonio whispered, leaning across the center counsel to press a kiss to the man's cheek reassuringly. Arthur chuckled nervously and nodded.

"I certainly hope you're right." Arthur sighed, his eyes moving to focus on the road as they made their way back towards the way they came.

~X~

The neighborhood that Gilbert led them too was deserted. Just on the outskirts of Hannover, and far enough away from the major city that they could hear the chaos, but couldn't see it just yet. A bit unnerved to be so close to the city once again, Arthur felt his gaze darting from road to the houses around them expecting to see an infected or some man with a gun come leaping out of the alleyways.

"I don't like this…the whole city looks completely overrun, but here it's like a bloody ghost town." Arthur whispered, glancing over at Antonio as he spoke. The Spaniard glanced back at him after a moment of studying the streets and nodded, his verdant eyes concerned.

"I agree…I'd be a lot happier if we knew where they were leading us, and if we knew for sure if their family was here." Antonio sighed as he nervously played with the hand that Arthur had wrapped around his own. His frown only deepened though, when Gilbert pulled his car into the driveway of a rather good-sized house, that from the outside looked completely abandoned. "This must be the place then." He murmured, undoing his seatbelt and stepping out of the truck when Gilbert and Elizabeta did. Moving around to the backseat, Antonio lifted his ax from the back and slung it onto his shoulder before stepping to Arthur's side.

Gilbert glanced up when the two men came to stand beside him checking his gun to make sure it was load and ready in case something should happen. Eyeing the ax on Antonio's shoulder he smiled slightly, seeming to take the time to appreciate the beautifully crafted weapon.

"That's an awesome ax you got there." Gilbert grinned as he shot a glance at the seemingly abandoned house nervously.

"Gracias…it was my grandfather's." Antonio smiled shakily back leaning against Arthur slightly as he followed Gilbert's gaze to the house. "This is the place then?" He asked with an apprehensive look towards the surrounding areas. Gilbert nodded slowly and sighed pointing to the truck that was parked next to his own.

"That's mein vati's…I'm hoping that means he's here." He explained with a strained look on his face. Sighing when Elizabeta squeezed his hand gently he nodded and moved over to the door. Taking a deep breath, he gently tapped at the scratched and battered door, feeling a surge of anticipation for what could be on the other side.

When the house remained silent, Antonio and Arthur thought perhaps that the man's family had already left and exchanged glances wondering if they should be prepared to leave. They didn't want to be stuck standing out in the open.

That was when they heard the sound of the door unlocking.

Jumping slightly, not having expected there to actually be someone home, Antonio's hands tightened around his ax as he stepped protectively in front of Arthur. As the door swung open, and a young man, a teenager really, stepped into the light, the Spaniard jumped when he heard Gilbert laugh in relief and throw himself forward into the house.

Hearing a grunt and a startled laugh from the blonde who had opened the door, Antonio shot a glance at Elizabeta and found the woman was smiling in relief. Glancing at the men, the woman gestured for them to come inside, waiting for them to step behind the door before sealing and locking it.

Coming to rest just inside the doorway of the massive house, Arthur and Antonio moved closer together as Gilbert laughed and held the tall blonde teen to his shoulder.

"Ludwig! You're alive!"

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**Thanks to all the wonderful people who review the last chapter! As always, please let us know how you liked this new chapter! See you all next week!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5!**

**Warnings: Angst... Lots and lots of angst.**

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"Gott bruder... I am alright. I'm alive see?" Ludwig said, sounding rather exasperated, though he returned the fierce hug after a moment with a sigh and a small, reserved smile. "It takes more than a few infected to kill me. You should know that." He teased, though the slight trembling in his hands betrayed just how strong his sense of relief was now that he wasn't alone and, more importantly, was with his brother again. It had been hard, being alone, especially knowing it was because he hadn't moved fast enough...

"Where is everyone else? I figured they would have stayed with you if something went...wrong...Ludwig what's wrong?" Gilbert asked looking up from examining his brother closely when he caught the sheen of depression and grief in his brother's cerulean eyes. Slowly, his grin faded into an almost anguished frown of realization. Surely they couldn't all have... "Oh...they didn't...not even Vati?" He whispered, only the sheen of unshed tears in his ruby eyes giving away the grief that was suddenly overwhelming him. None of them had survived? Feliciano... Vater? It hurt more than he could put into words as he shuddered and pulled his brother into a hug again, tighter and almost desperate this time, trying to seek comfort from someone who would fully understand and share his suddenly crushing grief.

Arthur felt a small pang of sympathy for the poor man as the albino looked away a moment, his eyes focusing onto some distant object as he fought to clear them of the offending tears welling up behind his eyelids. Subconsciously, Arthur edged closer to Antonio and spared a thought for his own family, miles away and on their own... He couldn't help but wonder if any of them had escaped the infection.

"Vati... I... Bruder... Es tut mir leid." Ludwig whispered almost silently, face burning in shame while tears of his own threatened to fall. It was funny, in a cruel sort of way. He had always been thought of as the stronger and more responsible of the two once he hit his midteens, but he couldn't help think that if it had been Gilbert with them instead of him, everyone would be alright. After all, his brother had always known what to do. "I couldn't... They were everywhere bruder... All around the house... I tried... I... I told Feli to hide in the bathroom..." He said in the same, near silent whisper. Even the soundless words shook as he spoke and he had to stop to clear his throat for a moment as grief threatened to overwhelm him. "Vati and I... We ran upstairs... Got the guns. Everything looked ok... But then Feli screamed downstairs... I.. I didn't even think bruder! He... He was Vati! Vati... he's never struggled with anything... I thought for sure he'd... but... but I lost them both..." The younger German's voice cracked and broke in his grief, words croaking in places, losing all sound in others. It was his fault they both were dead. Had he just... done something different...

Antonio could feel the two Germans' misery, almost as if it was his own. What would he do if his Padre and... his Arthur... If they... But he shook his head, riding his mind of the gruesome images and instead moving until he could wrap his arms around Arthur's waist and pull him close. He felt as though he didn't belong there, with the two German brothers as the grieved, and it was with that mentality that he slowly pulled Arthur further into the house to give them space.

Gilbert remained silent for a moment as he struggled to keep the grief at bay. Instead he focused his attention onto the fact that his brother needed him to be strong for him right then. He would have time to grieve later when they were safe. Sighing shakily, he clenched his eyes closed and pulled his brother into another fierce hug. "You did everything that you could. Vati wouldn't want you to grieve bruder... he would want you to escape and move on." He pointed out firmly, voice rasping with his grief as he pulled away from the hug and smiled shakily at his brother. "We'll get out of here together, and we'll keep living, because that's what Beilschmidts do." *His voice was firm and insisting as he worked to shove aside his own grief in order to comfort his brother. "It wasn't your fault bruder. You did everything that you could." He soothed, as he always did when Luddy was hurting or scared or blaming himself, wiping the tear from his brother's face. "And you've still got me right? I won't let anything happen to you bruderchen...we'll get out of here together."

Ludwig closed his eyes and shuddered once, a full body thing that was full of fear, but when his eyes opened again, he looked determined, nodding to his brother and returning the smile and hug shakily. There was nothing he could do about his fallen loved ones now... "You're right... I can hear Vati now. "Ludwig! What are you doing, moping about when there are other people's lives at stake?"" He shook his head with a sad smile. "We'll get out of here and be fine... You and Eliza have to be tired, ja? I think we can get away with staying here one more night..." He said, though he looked uncertain.

"Ja I suppose he would be scolding us both." Gilbert chuckled softly gesturing for Elizabeta to come stand by him, unwilling to leave his brother's side now that they had been reunited.

"I think staying the night somewhere safe would be...wunderbar actually." He pointed out with a small exhausted grin, heart clenching a bit at the fear and uncertainty in his brother's usually strong and sure eyes. With a sigh he ran a pigmentless hand through his tangled hair, ruby eyes flashing hopefully. "Is it too much to hope that the water is still running?"

"Mmmm. The water is still running, but its cold." Ludwig said with an apologetic glance at his brother before walking into the kitchen to where the two strangers had disappeared. Seeing them entangled together in a pretzel-like hug, his bright blue orbs filled with confusion at first, and then extreme sorrow, before settling on mild curiosity. "Who are you?" He asked, not unfriendly more so than firm in demanding an answer.

Gilbert grinned slightly when he heard that the water was still running and leaned up against the wall of the entranceway, frowning at the authoritative ring in his brother's voice. "Luddy, be nice. They're nice enough." He called with a good humored smile, eyes glancing towards Elizabeta with a wink, causing her to laugh softly. "You don't have to command them into answering things. I'm sure they'll tell you if you just ask." He continued, pulling his wife into him when she came to stand beside him, green eyes sparkling with amusement.

"I wasn't being unfriendly!" Ludwig retorted with a good natured roll of his eyes before returning his attention to the men before him who still had yet to speak. "Well? Who are you?" He asked again, this time more curious than commanding.

Antonio warily held onto Arthur, heart fluttering in his chest at the direct, almost confrontational question that came from the younger German's mouth. A sheepish, uncertain smile formed on his face when the question was asked a second time. He certainly didn't want to appear rude or unfriendly in the stranger's house. "I suppose introductions are important... I'm Antonio Fernandez Carriedo. We ran into tu hermano on the road and he offered to let us trail behind." He explained, arms tightening around Arthur hesitantly as Ludwig simply nodded at him and looked at the blonde expectantly.

Arthur had been scanning around the room warily when Antonio tightened his hold on him, causing him to blink in surprise as he realized the German was waiting for him to speak. Embarrassed at having been caught zoning out, he flushed faintly. "I'm Arthur Kirkland." He answered, cursing as his voice shook slightly and moving forward with his hand extended for the man to shake with a small, shy smile on his face. "It's a pleasure to find another friendly face."

Ludwig smiled faintly at Arthur's kind words and reached forward to take his hand, shaking it firmly. "Likewise to you, Mr. Kirkland. If mein bruder has yet to offer you a place to say, let me extend the invitation and say you may stay as long as we do." He offered kindly, leading the way back into the living room to rejoin Gilbert and Elizabeta.

"We'll stay here for tonight. I'll take watch and we'll head out in the morning." He decided, locking eyes with his brother for a moment in a silent question of approval. He looked away only when Gilbert nodded in reluctance.

"I'll let you take watch, but only if you agree to wake me up if you get tired." Gilbert compromised with a sigh, knowing the argument that would arise if he disagreed wouldn't be worth it.

Ludwig nodded his agreement and glanced back towards Arthur and Antonio. "Sleep while it is safe... I assume you two will be travelling with us in the morning?" He questioned, cerulean eyes calculating some form of plan or another.

Antonio nodded and moved forward with Arthur, defensive and almost as wary of the German as he was of the flesh eaters. "Si. We'll stick with you guys. Survival will be easier with five sets of eyes instead of two..." He stated slowly, not liking being under the calm blue eyes of the muscular teen.

"Anthony!" Arthur cautioned, a bit exasperated when he caught the defensive gleam in Antonio's eyes. Smiling warmly up at Ludwig he nodded and sighed, eyes apologetic for his Spaniard's strange behavior. "A bed would be wonderful. Thank you for letting us stay with you." He nodded graciously, nudging Antonio when the man still seemed wary. What had gotten into him?

Elizabeta giggled softly at Antonio's defensiveness as she leaned into her husband, remembering how possessive Gilbert got in situations that made him uncomfortable. She took one of his pale hands in hers at the thought as they stood there, pressing her lips to the back of his ice cold hand. "You alright dear?" She asked in a soft, concerned voice, knowing how hard it must be for him to have lost his father.

Glancing at Elizabeta, Gilbert nodded grimly, reaching out to brush some hair from her face affectionately, though his eyes glowed with pain. "Of course I'm alright liebe...just tired is all." He mumbled with an exhausted sigh. He was lying of course, the pain of losing his father was tearing away at his insides furiously, but she didn't need to know that. She needed him to be strong for her, and damn it he was going to be strong.

Elizabeta didn't believe him in the slightest, she knew him too well to believe the facade. He'd hide whatever hurt him from everyone if he thought it might endanger someone he loved. "You don't have to be brave dear... If you hurt, you should never hesitate to tell me, even if you think it isn't a good thing for me to see you 'weakened' or what have you..." She said, voice soft but firm. "We can be strong for each other... It doesn't all have to be on your shoulders." She whispered to him in a soft enough voice that her words didn't carry further than their ears.

"You know Luddy, you might let Arthur and Antonio take over watch at some point when you get tired." Gilbert suggested, trying to avoid the whispered conversation. He knew ignoring Elizabeta's words made her worry for him, but he really didn't have it in him to try to lie better, nor did he want to have such a conversation, no matter how disapproving her sea green eyes on him were.

"That sounds fine to me. I wouldn't mind keeping watch at all, what with the kindness you all have shown to us." Arthur shrugged, glancing around the well-built home and realizing that it had been fortified rather well for the amount of time Ludwig must have had. Windows barred, door enforced with a hotel style lock, the kind that kept the door from opening more than a handful of centimeters when the lock was flipped.

Antonio on the other hand, who was hardly discouraged from his defensive possessiveness, still had his eyes locked on Ludwig holding a rather challenging gleam in the fiery, verdant depths. He didn't particularly like the clearly strong, intimidating teenager being so close to Arthur in the slightest, not with how big and threatening the he could easily be. "We can take watch later, si." He all but growled, eyes flashing in nervous discontent and a faint hostility.

Arthur rolled his eyes dramatically and grabbed onto Antonio's collar hauling him towards the stairs with a grumble of irritation. Glancing at Ludwig as they moved up the stairs he smiled brightly his eyes still flashing slightly. "Sorry about him, mate...he just woke up...bit grumpy. Thank you for the room though, wake us when you need us to keep watch or if you need anything at all alright?" He beamed shooting a slightly worried glance at Elizabeta and Gilbert as he caught sight of the grief in both of their shoulders.

"Good night you two. We'll see you in the morning." He called to them before dragging Antonio up the stairs to the room Ludwig had indicated looking rather cross with the Spaniard for what he considered a very rude display to their new host.

"Guten nacht." Gilbert waved after the two before turning back to Elizabeta with a sigh, smiling shakily. "I'm alright Liza...just...I just need a bit." He admitted softly glancing at his brother.

Suddenly the prospect of sleep with such a heavy heart seemed ridiculously irrational, leaving him to glace at his brother with a sigh. "Bruder... I don't particularly like the idea of you staying on guard by yourself. Maybe after I shower I'll come join you, ja? Then we can switch off with Arthur and Antonio so we can all get some sleep." He suggested calmly, hoping against hope that his brother would agree. When Ludwig shook his head, eyes firm, he sighed. "Are you sure? I don't want you down here by yourself." He pointed out sternly, hand resting on Elizabeta's shoulder gently.

When he saw the stubborn look in Ludwig's eyes he sighed again. It really was pointless to argue. "You shout if you need anything at all alright? I don't care if you stub your toe I want to know about it." He commanded, crossing his arms over his chest. "You don't leave this house, and you do not go near the windows on the bottom floor. Stay alert and wake me up at three because I'm taking over at that point, Antonio and Arthur can sleep tonight."

Elizabeta smiled sympathetically at her husband, though she agreed with Ludwig that he needed sleep. With a little sigh and understanding eyes, she kissed him softly. "Go shower dear. I'll head upstairs to bed with you." She said, before sending a glance Ludwig's direction. "Unless you want me to stay down here?" It was doubtful, but she figured she would offer.

Ludwig shook his head, though not unkindly, and moved to sit in the middle of the living room floor, a shot gun slung across his shoulder, his Vati's rifle in his lap and a pistol on his belt. "I'm fine, danke though. Go on to bed Elizabeta. Bruder, I'll wake you when I am tired, no sooner." He insisted stubbornly, blue eyes flashing defiantly. Gilbert needed sleep, he could see it in his older brother's eyes and posture.

"Ok ok..." Gilbert grumbled, looking defeated and exhausted.

Glancing at his brother, he smiled shakily when he recognized the rifle. "Hey...make sure you clean that thing before you use it. It jams if it gets grit in the chamber remember? We always tried to get him to replace it...but you know...sentimental value." He whispered, dangerously close to breaking down at the memories.

Quickly, trying desperately to hide his crumbling façade, he turned and moved upstairs slowly. "Head on up once you say goodnight Eliza." He called over his shoulder before disappearing into what had once been his bedroom.

Scavenging through the clothes he had left he found a new set of jeans, boxers and a folded black t-shirt before moving into the bathroom and turning on the shower. Slowly he stepped into the tub, trembling already though not because of the icy water. It was only once he got situated into the frigid water that he sighed and rested his arm against the wall, allowing the first of many tears to roll down his face. "Gott verdammt Vater...you were too strong to go down like that, damn you." He croaked as he allowed soft sobs to wrack his frame into a freezing oblivion.

"Vater was such a stubborn old man... Just like Gil..." Ludwig's eyes clouded with grief and he looked down with a shrug, saying nothing more to hide how close he was to tears. He was grateful that his brother left when he had. Never would he shake the idea that his Vati's death was his fault.

"I think it runs in the family, dear. You're stubborn just like them." Elizabeta laughed softly, her eyes dull with sorrow and concern as sat beside him for a few minutes, hugging him and rocking the much bigger person in an almost motherly fashion. She sat with him like that for a few minutes before she kissed the top of his head and got up to go into Gilbert's room. "You two are so similar... Don't be afraid to let the hurt out Ludwig... Now good night... Stay safe dear." Her voice was firm and caring as she left him, hoping maybe being alone would help him grieve.

Ludwig nodded with a weak smile in her general direction as she left for his brother's room, wishing that letting his pain out was as easy as she made it sound. With a miserable sigh, he settled a bit more from where he sat in the center of the room, prepared to sit out yet another sleepless night, knowing sleep would only bring on nightmares of his Vati and his Feliciano being bitten.

Antonio gazed evenly at Arthur when he was spun around to face the fuming Englishman as they reached their borrowed room, eyes narrowed and lips in a hard, thin line. His eyes were clearly challenging, though they also burned with shame at his overreaction. Surely Arthur could hardly blame him for being possessive, even though his display may have been a bit over the top? In all honesty he was simply just terrified of losing the man! He was so afraid of that possibility, that it sent his stomach churning sickeningly each time he merely thought of it. At this point it didn't matter whether they had known each other for all their lives or just a few days, he loved Arthur and wasn't about to let anyone or anything take him away, even if he couldn't quite admit the words directly to the man.

"Care to explain?" Arthur demanded in irritation, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared back at him. He could understand the possessiveness, but as far as he had been concerned Ludwig had made no move that seemed even the slightest bit threatening. He wasn't mad at the man, but he certainly was irritated that he had gotten so touchy on the drop of a hat! Though deep down, he might have been the slightest bit flattered at the same time, not that he would ever admit to that.

Antonio frowned, not really wanting to feel bad but he did. He hadn't wanted to make Arthur angry with him, more than just to protect him. Ludwig was much bigger than either of them and had something brought them to a fight, he wouldn't have been able to keep Arthur safe! "Not really amigo... I don't really know how to anyway." He admitted with clearly conflicted that did nothing to hide his swirling emotions.

Arthur raised an eyebrow and looked a bit miffed. What did he mean he didn't know how to explain? "No? You don't want a chance to explain yourself? Antonio that man and his brother just let us into their home and you treated them like they were going to eat me alive!" He whispered in a hiss, not wanting to raise his voice when the people down the hall might be trying to sleep. "I don't understand...why are you so suspicious of the poor man? I wouldn't leave you for him if that's what you think!" Arthur snapped looking livid as he started to believe perhaps the Spaniard thought he would be so flighty as to up and leave him the minute an attractive blonde came wandering into the picture.

Flinching slightly, pain flashed through Antonio's eyes. That wasn't what he had thought at all! Why would Arthur think so low of him? He was so distraught, the implications of Arthur's words didn't even register in his brain. "Amigo no! I... you got it all wrong! I... I just..." He stuttered, floundering in his attempts at an explanation. How stupid he surely sounded, unable to form proper sentences. His cheeks burned in embarrassment and he bit his lip, moving past Arthur to head toward the door, wanting to just sit in the hallway for a moment.

Arthur's eyes followed Antonio as he moved past him. With a sudden pang of realization he felt his heart clench painfully. He hadn't meant to hurt the man...he just...he wasn't used to anyone caring enough to make a scene. Eyes suddenly remorseful, his hand lashed out catching ahold of Antonio's sleeve desperately. "Don't go! I...I didn't mean it like that." He whispered lowering his gaze and releasing the man's arm once he had him stopped. Wrapping his arms around himself he stared down at the floor nervously as he thought of a proper apology, face burning with shame. With his eyes trained on the floor, he didn't see the absolute confusion and bewilderment in the poor Spaniard's eyes. "I...I was...I was just confused. I've never had anyone care so much for me...and well...I'm not sure what to expect." He whispered, scuffing his foot across the ground. "I'm sorry Antonio...I didn't mean to snap. I just...didn't understand why."

Antonio felt very small under Arthur's words, his face positively glowing in embarrassment and discomfort. "N-No no amigo. I wasn't leaving…. Just going to go sit in the hallway because I am very embarrassed!" He stammered, looking everywhere but at Arthur who was still looking down at the floor. He was no good at this! "I-I shouldn't have... I just... Um..." He blushed and moved back a bit, wanting very much to disappear. How was he supposed to explain? At this point he was so flustered he nearly felt like wailing in his distress. I just... it... it hurts to think of... losing you... and if he... I just... Lo siento. I feel so bad for upsetting you!" He attempted, stuttering and mumbling, desperately wishing he could turn invisible.

A feeling regret for yelling at the man welled up in Arthur's chest as Antonio stammered and blushed furiously, not having realized how strongly the Spaniard felt about whatever had caused him to be so unfriendly downstairs. Guess the poor man wasn't the only one to overreact...

Stepping forward, Arthur wrapped him in a hug from behind and rested his cheek against his shoulder. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to upset you or embarrass you Antonio." He murmured feeling ashamed for snapping at the man who obviously cared very much for him. To think he had been fearful of something happening to him! "You care so much for me...and I turn around and scold you for simply attempting to protect me. I'm so sorry." He whispered sounding genuinely apologetic and grief stricken. "Don't feel bad...I should feel bad for not understanding how stressed you are about trying to keep me alive."

Antonio just sort of shrugged and fixed his eyes on his hands, wishing away the pressure building behind his eyes. "Really I shouldn't have... I'm sorry... I... I'll just... try harder to back off next time..." He whispered, completely tense as Arthur hugged him, feeling undeserving in his embarrassment and his shame to accept such a gesture. It didn't help that a piece of himself was asking why he felt so hurt by Arthur's previous anger, even though the Englishman had apologized for it. Far from feeling any better or less like he wanted to be invisible, Antonio kept his eyes trained on everything but Arthur.

Arthur bit his lip as Antonio still refused to look at him. On a whim, he buried his face into the man's overheated neck and closed his eyes a moment as he struggled to find something to say. "Please...don't beat yourself up. It's my damned fault...I shouldn't...I shouldn't have yelled at you." He whispered removing his arms from around Antonio when he still didn't look his way and moving over to the bed, sitting with a heavy sigh and staring down at his hands. "You deserve so much better...I just...I can't believe it myself that you care so much for me. I thought perhaps you did think I was the type to run off with some... buff blonde if he bats an eyelash at me. Because I'm not!" He promised looking up at the man in hopes of catching his eye. "I'm not angry...I was just confused is all...please don't look so upset love."

"I don't think that..." Antonio mumbled, hanging his head. The posture made him look rather defeated as he just stood there, his blush not even trying to fade from his face. Some way to mess things up already! He was no good at any of this! "I'll be better... I promise... I won't be so... defensive and clingy... I'm sorry... Lo siento... It's ok to yell if you were upset... I understand I made you uncomfortable... I'm sorry." He stuttered even softer, rooted to the spot as he tried to decide whether to go sit on the bed beside Arthur or perhaps go sleep on a couch downstairs.

Arthur couldn't express the relief that filled his chest as Antonio admitted that he didn't think he was some sort of loose person. Sighing in relief, he glanced up at him. "I didn't say I didn't want you to be clingy and defensive..." He whispered, looking up at him with a small shaky smile that he had to force to keep on his face as he spotted the defeated posture that Antonio had taken up. Sighing heavily, he lifted a hand and gestured for the man to come sit down beside him, hoping they were at least a little closer to fixing things. "You aren't planning on making me sleep alone, are you?" He asked shyly, his smile encouraging as he tried to get his Spaniard to come back to him.

Antonio hesitated, having caught the gesture from the corner of his eye. A weak, wispy smile pulled at the corners of his lips at Arthur's words, though he still looked guarded and crushed. At least he wouldn't have to sleep without Arthur, even though he had been so defensive and then a flustered fool. "I was thinking about it... But if you want me to, I would very much like to stay..." *He said softly, peeking up at Arthur through his long lashes almost nervously, as if he was afraid that Arthur would be cruel and tell him no.

Arthur frowned slightly as the man admitted he was planning on leaving him alone and shook his head, heart clenching with fear at the very thought of being alone. "I want you to stay Antonio...I don't want you to go to bed thinking I'm still angry at you." He murmured, patting the bed next to him insistently, feeling positively terrible for putting the crushed look onto Antonio's face. "Please don't be upset... I... I didn't mean to upset you." He whispered, looking up at the miserable looking Spaniard through pale eyelashes as a few tears formed stubbornly in his eyes.

Antonio slowly made his way to the bed and sat down beside Arthur with a soft sigh. A deep frown formed on his face when he caught sight of the tears in Arthur's eyes and hesitantly, he opened his arms, wondering if Arthur would come and fill the space between them or not. He vowed to himself that he would try his hardest to never upset him again. He really was just mortified at the idea of losing his Arthur...

Arthur looked up as Antonio sat next to him with a heavy sigh and found himself startled when the man opened up his arms hesitantly. Slowly, shyly Arthur moved forward into Antonio's arms and when he didn't turn him away, threw his arms around the man's neck and kissed him gently, feeling a weight lift off of him as Antonio hugged him fiercely. "I'm sorry love...I didn't mean to hurt you." He whispered insistently, not planning on stopping his apologies until Antonio verbally said it was alright.

Antonio immediately wrapped his arms around his waist tightly, shivering with relief as Arthur's lips met his. Everything was ok in his world again as they sat there holding each other. I didn't mean to anger you, amor... but everything is all better now, si?"

Arthur nodded and slowly pulled them both down against the bed, suddenly exhausted now that they were alright again. "Of course love. Everything is fine so long as you stop feeling bad." He assured, resting his head on Antonio's chest and smiling faintly as he felt arm, strong arms wrap around him, even if they were a little hesitant yet.

"Vale vale... I think maybe we should sleep now, si? It is going to be another long day tomorrow I think and I am tired... You look tired too amor... So buenos noches. Sleep well mi flor." He whispered, running gentle fingers through Arthur's hair as he closed his beautiful verdant eyes, breathing evening out almost as soon as they closed.

Arthur laughed softly, amazed at the man's ability to fall asleep so quickly and closed his eyes as well, though sleep didn't claim him right away like it had the Spaniard. Instead he listened to the man breath in and out, the repetitious action and sound lulling him slowly. "Good night love." He mumbled after a few minutes, sleep claiming him shortly afterwards.

Gilbert was still in the shower when he heard Elizabeta enter his room. The water was freezing him slowly, leaving his translucent self to shiver. It wasn't fair! Sure his Vater and him had some tough times, but that didn't mean he wouldn't give anything to have the man back.

Shuddering, he sighed and turned the knob until nothing fell from the shower head, the water cold enough to force the flood of tears in his eyes to remain hidden where they belonged. Toweling off, he threw on a new pair of pants and stepped into the room still towel drying his hair as he attempted to put on a brave face for his wife.

"Hallo...how is he?" He asked tossing the towel on the floor and moving to sit on the bed with a sigh.

"He's... just like you. Hiding everything... But he's strong and will be ok... And so will you." Elizabeta sighed and looked upset. She could see the pain in her husband's crimson eyes, even if she couldn't hear it in his words. Him and Ludwig were so much alike... If they weren't careful, they'd end up making themselves sick by hanging onto their grief like they were.

Gilbert nodded grimly and pulled her down onto his lap burying his face into her shoulder. "I'm going to miss the old man...he...he wasn't the best father, but...Gott I still loved him." He whispered softly, his face hidden from her view as a few tears rolled down his cheeks.

Elizabeta hid her surprise at the unexpected reaction by wrapping her arms around him and soothingly rubbing his back. She hadn't expected anything close to him discussing the elderly German. "I know, love. I know... Shhh It's ok... It's hard to lose your father." It was all she could think to say as her thoughts flew to her adoptive father. Was the loud, strong Turkish man alright? Of course the shuddering man in her arms quickly reclaimed her attention as she felt tears soak into her clothing.

Nodding slowly, he sobbed softly into her shoulder as she rubbed at his back gently, seeking comfort from the gentle gesture. "Gott...I just...I should have been here for them." He choked out, his grip tightening around her almost painfully. Had they not have gone out to celebrate their marriage, would Feliciano and his Vater still be alive? It was hard to know that maybe they'd still be alright had he just stayed at Ludwig's house with his Eliza.

There was no point in dwelling on what he couldn't fix, no matter how much it hurt. It was far more important to focus on the living, on the woman in his arms and the teenager downstairs who still needed him. "I promise you...I will never let anything hurt you or Ludwig. We'll get out of this hell hole and find somewhere safe so we can start a life just like I promised you before."

Elizabeta rocked him gently, similar to how she had Ludwig in the livingroom. "Love... you couldn't have known this was going to happen... It's not your fault... And it isn't Ludwig's fault either..." There wasn't going to be any self hating going on so long as she was around. "You are right though. We are all together now... and we'll be fine." She assured firmly. If she and Gil could stay alive, just the two of them on there way here, the five of them would be more than capable of staying alive.

Gilbert nodded slowly and rested his head against her shoulder, too tired to cry as the fear and grief still pulled at his mind. "We're all together now..." He repeated softly, his hands running through her hair more to sooth himself than his wife. The soft, silky strands helped to clear his head, if only just a little.

"Where do we go from here? We obviously can't stay in this damned house." That much had proven true with the lose of his vater and Ludwig's little Italian.

Eliza sighed and thought for a minute, hugging him tightly. It was a good question. "I... don't know. I'd say somewhere unpopulated,,, But..." She trailed off with another sigh. There was no point in going to look for Sadiq. He was on the other side of the continent. If he had even made it back home or was still alive. "I don't really know."

Catching the concerned and distant look in Elizabeta's eyes, Gilbert sighed heavily, hugging her tightly to him. "We'll figure this out...and maybe...well maybe we'll find your family. Sadiq and the others weren't leaving for a bit after the wedding...maybe their flight got cancelled and they're in the area?" His words were hopeful as he continued to run his fingers through his wife's hair absently.

As hopeful as his words were, Elizabeta knew her father and shook her head in disagreement. "No... He'll be heading home... Heracles was sick and didn't come to the wedding remember? He'll be fighting his way home... stubborn man... I'm sure he'll be fine..." She sighed, sounding more like she was trying to convince herself than Gilbert.

I'm sure he'll be just fine." Gilbert nodded in agreement, kissing her temple. With a low groan he laid down on the bed, pulling Eliza with him. Despite it all, yet another worry nagged in the back of his mind.

"I'm sorry that our honeymoon turned to such...hell." He pointed out with a sigh, kissing her gently again and pulling the blankets over them. "I promised you a romantic escape and well..." He sighed in frustration looking rather put out with himself. "Someday we'll get that vacation Liza...I promise."

A soft laugh filled the air around them as she returned the kiss, finding it in herself to smile just a little. "Mmm... I have you, and we are safe, for the night at least. That's all that matters in the end." Elizabeta decided, resting her head against his chest and closing her eyes.

"Ja..." Gilbert muttered sleepily, his hand weaving through her hair softly. "Ich liebe dich Eliza." He whispered, his eyes closing with a flutter.

Elizabeta laughed softly once more, eyes staying closed as she stifled a yawn. "Mmm... Szeretlek Gil." *She whispered, before allowing sleep to claim her.

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**For those who need it: **

**Ich liebe dich- I love you (German)**

**Szeretlek- Love you (Hungarian) **


	6. Chapter 6

**Alrighty. Chapter 6, here we come! **

**Warnings: Zombies. They are actually IN this chapter! **

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Arthur couldn't sleep. It didn't seem to matter to his sleep deprived mind that for the first time in days he was warm, safe, and being cradled in the arms of a man who he held such strange and wonderful feelings for. He had thought originally that with Antonio's arms draped around him, and the relative silence of the street he would at least doze through the night, but after about three in the morning his eyes seemed to be plastered open.

Shifting slightly in Antonio's hold, Arthur sighed when the man only tightened his lose hold around his shoulders all the more. After a few well timed shifts he managed to untangle himself from the Spaniard's arms and sit up, running his fingers through his hair with a sigh. Maybe if he went to the bathroom and tried to wash up a bit he would be able to sleep.

Standing stiffly, Arthur moved towards the door of the room, smiling slightly when Antonio's eyes opened momentarily with an inaudible question. "Go back to sleep, love." He ordered softly chuckling when the man immediately fell back into the realm of sleep. Grabbing some clothes, he shot one last look at Antonio before moving into the pitch black hall silently.

Turning to the bathroom, Arthur rubbed at his eyes sleepily before hesitating when he heard a familiar noise. Scratching? Rotating on his heel towards the noise, coming from the door to Gilbert and Elizabeta's room, he felt his heart clench in his chest when he located the source of the noise.

An infected woman was standing at the door, her nails dragging down the front of the wood as she attempted to get past the barrier that had formed in front of her. Clapping a hand over his own mouth to stifle a whimper of fear Arthur moved backwards towards his room his heart thundering in his chest.

She hadn't noticed him. Maybe she wouldn't if he could just…

He had never known a floorboard could be so loud.

The woman's head snapped up with an inhuman growl of hunger when the mortified Brit stepped on the creaking board only a few feet away from his room. Swearing as she lurched forward with an gurgling cry, Arthur stumbled backwards and fumbled with the knife he had strapped to his hip.

She collided with him with enough force to send him sprawling backwards. Crashing into a bookshelf he was temporarily dazed as the mutilated woman desperately clawed and snapped at him. Cursing noisily, Arthur managed to get ahold of his knife after a brief moment of paralyzing panic.

With a grunt of effort, the Brit lurched up and rammed the blade into the side of the infected's head with a sickening squelch. Instantly, the spark of life in the pale milky eyes went out and the woman slumped leaving Arthur pinned beneath her putrid form.

Gagging, Arthur shakily pulled his knife out of the woman's skull and scrambled out from under her. Breathing heavily, the Englishman fought the urge to vomit as he caught a glimpse of the wound on the side of the woman's head and stumbled backwards a bit.

He heard Elizabeta and Gilbert's door swing open behind him, and turned to face them with a sigh of relief. That was of course until he caught sight of the pan swinging towards his head.

"Elizabeta wai…!" Arthur yelped only to cut off with a roar of pain as his shoulder exploded with pain. Seeing stars for a brief moment, Arthur let out an agonized whimper as he crumbled to the ground cradling his shoulder, his arm numb.

"Arthur?! Oh my God! Are you…" Elizabeta gasped moving to kneel next to the gasping Englishman only to be pulled backwards by a livid looking Spaniard. Stumbling back a bit into her husband's hold she looked back at the duo with wide and mortified eyes. She couldn't believe that she could have mistaken Arthur for an infected now that her fear cleared, she didn't see how she could have made the mistake.

Antonio moved to Arthur's side, twitching as he fought to keep himself from retaliating against Elizabeta. He _knew_ she hadn't meant to hit Arthur. With almost exaggerated calm he pulled back Arthur's shirt a bit to get a look at the injury. His eyes widening slightly, he gently probed the inflamed, swelling skin that was already bruising on Arthur's shoulder.

"Are you alright amor?'' He asked before his head snapped up at a shout coming from down the stairs, a blur of albino already rushing past him in his haste to get downstairs.

"I'm fine It's just..." Arthur looked up startled as Gilbert tore down the hall following Ludwig's shout. With some help from Antonio, Arthur managed to stand, gritting his teeth at the pain shooting through his scapula. Swearing he grabbed his knife off the ground and sprinted into his room to collect his gun before sprinting after the albino, Antonio and Elizabeta not far behind, afraid to let Gilbert deal with whatever was happening downstairs by himself.

Ludwig was surrounded by a relatively small group of the infected. There were only three of them, but two more than Ludwig could safely handle at such a close proximity. Gilbert cursed as his eyes flicked towards the kitchen where more were streaming in through the kitchen door.

Turning his attention back to his brother, he shot at one, expertly splitting open its head and aimed to shoot at another, only for the gun to jam. "Gott verdammt!" He swore angrily, resorting to swinging the gun around and smacking the gnashing teethed, undead creature in the head with it to get it away.

Even without his gun, Gilbert didn't hesitate to leap to his brother's aid with a furious snarl he pulled a nasty looking hunting knife from a sheath at his side and rammed it up into the creature's skull just above the spine. Allowing the body to slump to the ground he turned to his brother and pulled him into a quick bone crushing hug. Blinking in surprise when his brother hugged him back surprisingly tightly instead of just tolerating his brother's hug barely catching the flicker of something he wasn't sure he liked in his brother's eyes. Taking it for fear of the situation, Gilbert ignored his gut feeling that something was horribly wrong in favor of scanning around the room for an escape route.

"Where did they come from? You know it doesn't matter, we need to go...right now." Gilbert ordered as Arthur killed another one of the creatures just as they crawled through the crushed kitchen door.

"The route to the damn cars is blocked!' Arthur shouted in panic his heart thundering in his chest, wincing when Antonio shoved a book shelf over in front of the door only to have the creatures shatter a window behind them. Backing away from the doomed window, the Spaniard came to stand beside Arthur, swinging his ax at an encroaching infected and grinning in satisfaction as its head came clean off with a sickening crunch of bone.

Elizabeta moved to Gilbert and Ludwig's side, frying pan in hand as she scanned for an escape route, her eyes settling on the hands frantically scratching through the air as they tried to get inside, moaning and screaming in hunger and desperation.

"The Back. Out the back. Let's go! They'll swarm the place soon. We have to get around the side of the house to the cars before they figure out there is more than one way in." Ludwig commanded, moving towards the back exit as Gilbert guarded his rear. "There isn't much time we need to move." He barked at the others when they hesitated. Moving to the back door Ludwig threw it open with a bang just as the infected poured into the room behind them growling and snarling as they lurched at the group.

Turning as the other's exited at a sprint Gilbert threw the back door closed and began leading them around the side of the house. "Hurry we can get to the cars while they're distracted inside." Gilbert hissed slamming his hunting knife into an infected's skull as it stumbled towards him through the yard.

Ludwig shoved Elizabeta out in front of him and so he could bring up the rear, glancing behind him nervously. There were so many... He shook of his concern and herded everyone forward. "Bruder. Do the cars have enough gas to get out of here, or do you need the keys for my car?" He shouted over the roar of the horde.

"We just got gas we're fine!" Gilbert insisted quietly leading the group forward towards the car at a slow trot. Ludwig just nodded and kept them moving forward. He looked perfectly fine, except for the brokenness in his eyes. That didn't matter though, nothing mattered but keeping everyone safe. The albino German lifted his gun, having traded it out with his fathers, and aimed at one of them. He felt only a faint satisfaction when it's head exploded from the shot and the body slumped forward, tripping the one behind it.

Elizabeta followed close behind Gilbert, looking scared and determined all at the same time. Suddenly her frying pan didn't feel as useful as it had been back when they were only fighting one zombie at a time. Now her arms were feeling fatigued her muscles straining with every hit that she landed on an infected. "Love... Gil there are so many... I don't know if we'll be able to..." She trailed off, biting her lip and having a death grip on her pan when she felt the handle start to slip in her hand.

"Gut, you all have to get out of here." Ludwig insisted quietly, not truly meaning for his brother to hear.

"You...as in us? Not you? *Gilbert snapped whirling on his brother the moment the words slipped from his lips. Looking shocked as he blasted open another one of the infected's skulls he tossed the keys to the truck to Elizabeta "We'll be fine." He insisted turning back to his brother. "We go together. We get out of here together. No one gets left behind today Ludwig...do you hear me? *He barked grabbing ahold of an infected's arm and hauling it into the knife waiting in his hand. Tossing it into another infected he began furiously hacking at the infected with a new determination. "If someone stays behind it'll be me damn it! I am not losing anymore family today Ludwig!" he roared furiously.

"Just keep moving forward. Stop trying to keep the weight of everyone on your shoulders before it kills you, gott verdammt!" Ludwig barked as he glared over at his brother.

Elizabeta's eyes flashed with renewed vigor at Gilbert's words and he smashed in the skull of a zombie with a terrifying expression on her face. "Over my dead body! Gilbert Beilschmidt don't you dare even _think_ about staying behind!"

"God damn it...where did they all come from?!" Arthur yelped quietly, catching a glimpse of the massive size of the horde that was entering the house behind them. Shuddering, Arthur tightened his grip on his knife wishing that he could move his left arm without earning a scream of protest in return.

Antonio tugged Arthur forward when the man hesitated, tearing the man's eyes from behind them. "Don't look back. Just keep moving forward. Don't freak out on me, amor. We will get out of here." He promised, slashing at one of the infected that stumbled in their path with a growl.

"I…I'm fine love I promise. Do you have the keys to our car?" Arthur whispered, his hand reaching out to grab Antonio's for a brief moment tightening around his tan fingers for a minute before he pulled away to fight of an infected man with his good arm.

There were a few infected stumbling around outside, not following the horde but instead meandering aimlessly around, but they perked up when they spotted the survivors. Snarling and hissing they began to hobble towards them, their skin hanging off them in bloody tatters and their teeth blackened and coated in blood. "Disgusting..." Arthur grimaced looking green as he lifted up his gun awkwardly onto his shoulder and fired into one of their heads sending a splatter of blood and brains flying outwards. "Absolutely horrid." He gagged as he stumbled over the fallen bodies.

"Don't think about them as people. They are dead already, and nothing is going to change that. Breathe now and freak out later, si?" Antonio mumbled softly to Arthur. He pulled his keys from his pocket with a smile. "And si. I still have our keys." He said as the drew up to the cars

"I know...I know they aren't human but... " He shook his head as an infected child let out a pathetic mewl of hunger as it stumbled towards them down the street. Shuddering he forced himself forward unable to bear the sight any longer wincing when he heard a crack from Ludwig's gun that sent the small form crumbling to the ground. "Let's just go... please."

Nodding, Antonio reached the cars first trusting Arthur would keep them off of him as he unlocked the door. Trying to push the button to unlock the door, he found his hands were shaking too badly to find the button he needed in the dark, and fumbling with the keys he ended up dropping the keys with a gasp of agony. Instead of reaching to get them, he spun around to help fend the infected off.

"Lo siento!" He cried out to Arthur before lashing out a one of the infected as it drew too close.

Arthur swore as Antonio dropped the keys, fighting back mind-numbing terror he lurched forward as Antonio turned to fight off the horde. Fumbling around on the concrete under the car he snagged the silver objects and lifted them up, crying out in surprise as an infected snagged ahold of his wrist and attempted to pull his hand towards its gaping mouth. Shuddering he lurched forward and jammed the keys into the creature's eye killing it with a spurt of blood and gore.

Releasing a terrified groan, he staggered upwards and slammed his thumb onto the button unlocking it with a click and throwing the door open victoriously. Turning to Antonio, he snaked an arm around the man's waist hauling the Spaniard backwards into the car with him with a grunt of effort. Grabbing the door he slammed it shut behind them, his form still tangled with Antonio's as he lurched into the passenger seat.

"Drive!" He yelped thrusting the keys into Antonio's hand with a shudder.

Antonio's head banged painfully against the side of the car as he tried to right himself, but he quickly righted himself and shoved the keys into the ignition. Their car roared to life thunderously loud, causing the Spaniard to wince, knowing they were drawn to noise.

" Aren't we following them? I can't just..." He began shakily, but seeing Arthur's face, Antonio squared his shoulders and turned his eyes to the road, pulling out from in front of the house a bit too quickly, praying the others would follow him.

Gilbert didn't respond to his brother and Elizabeta's comment, watching him determinedly he reached their car and stood in front of Elizabeta as she unlocked the door and threw herself inside. "Ludwig let's go!" he roared blasting open the skull of an infected just as it tried to grab ahold of his arm. "Get in the car! _Now_!' he snarled firing madly into the slowly encroaching mass of the living dead. That many creatures could easily tip their car over, and he wanted to be out of there long before they could reach them.

Ludwig hesitated before getting in the car, but he knew his brother wouldn't leave without him. With an imperceptible sigh, he climbed into the back seat and shut the door.

"Go. Get out of here now!" The taller German commanded, eyeing the creatures while they drew ever closer to the car. Elizabeta shuddered in her seat, once again gripping the pan handle with white knuckles.

After he was sure that Ludwig was safe, Gilbert leapt into the driver's seat and pulled the keys from Elizabeta's shuddering hands. Starting the car with the rev of the engine he pulled out of the driveway with a screech a few moments after Antonio. Attempting to control his breathing as he ran over a few of the creatures with sickening pops, he sped off after the Spaniard his eyes narrowed onto the road as he shook furiously.

~X~

"Was the hell was that Ludwig?!" Gilbert snarled after a few minutes, his entire form shaking as he weaved expertly between parked cars.

"Bruder, stop yelling, Bitte... *Ludwig mumbled, sounding exhausted and drained as he stared out window. He leaned his head against the back of the seat, his breathing shuddery and his skin almost as pale as his brother's. Glancing up at the albino he scowled when he caught sight of two ruby eyes glancing out him angrily. "Was the hell was that? That was me trying to keep you alive. That is was that was." He said, blue eyes disappearing behind bruise colored eyelids.

"Ludwig I don't care why you did I just never want you to...Lud? Are you ok?" Gilbert's livid scolding cut off immediately when he glanced over at his brother and noticed the sudden lack of coloring in his brother's skin in the rearview mirror. "Are you...are you going to be sick? Can you hold it? I really can't stop here." He pointed out his mind automatically coming to the conclusion that his brother was suffering from some sort of stress or nausea from what he had just witnessed "Don't worry bruder, I'm not angry. It'll be ok...we got away, ja? Nothing to worry about." He encouraged with a small smile his hands shuddering gently around the wheel.

"Don't worry about me so much bruder... Just get out of town. I'll be fine... Until we can stop safely I'll be fine." Ludwig muttered with a weak smile. He prayed his words were true, though his health was quickly deteriorating. He clenched his hands together to keep them from shaking and focused on staying well. They weren't safe here! He just had to make it until they could stop...

Gilbert nodded grimly and turned his attention back to the road determined to reach safety so he could check his family for injury more thoroughly. "Ok... Just...tell me if something's wrong, ja?" He ordered, his voice barely a whisper. He could feel the lie in Ludwig's voice, but he couldn't decide why he would be lying if he was hurt or sick. Perhaps it really just was the stress? Gilbert sighed and sped up slightly to catch up with the two ahead of him hoping they would find a place to rest soon.

Ludwig almost felt more terrible for lying to his brother than anything else. He couldn't tell him the truth now though... Not until they got some place safe. That was his priority now. It wasn't like he'd be able to do much mo... No. No he wouldn't think about it. By this point his entire frame had started to tremble and an icy sweat had broken out over his too pale skin.

"Everything will turn out alright bruder, right?" He whispered quietly. Gilbert forced a smile onto his face as he glanced back at his brother, fighting to keep it on his face even when he spotted the sickly look on his brother's face.

"J...ja of course bruderchen! Everything will be just fine. we'll get somewhere safe, a military base or something, and we'll start over. Just you, Eliza, and me...that'll be nice, ja?" He assured the younger man reaching back to squeeze his younger brother's knee.

Hearing the boy speak, Elizabeta had a sinking feeling in her stomach, but wasn't sure why. She had stayed quiet so far, but the edge of town was in sight and she suddenly remembered a place to go.

"Gil... Get in front of Antonio and Arthur. You know the wooded area around towards the south end of town? There's a cabin there... You have to take quite a few dirt roads and such to get there, but it is about as remote of a place as you are going to get for now." She said in a soft voice, though a fierce light shown in her eyes.

Glancing at his wife, Gilbert grinned and nodded. "Danke Eliza." he sighed in relief, flashing his lights at Arthur and Antonio before speeding up and pulling out in front of the man's car, waving to show he was taking the lead. Instantly his mind focused onto the road and their destination, shoving all other potential problems and distractions from his mind.

It was how he coped with everything, when he lost his mother shortly after his brother was born he focused on raising Ludwig keeping his attention on the boy and nothing else. When he had worked two jobs on top of going to school when his father had problems paying the bills he focused on the smile he earned from his brother when he would come home after a long day at work or a small passing grin from Elizabeta...the girl who worked in the small coffee shop across from the autoshop where he was employed in.

Even when he was sure that the world was crumbling around him he would focus furiously onto the important things and ignore anything that he didn't need to worry about. He was afraid that if he let up, he would shatter, and the two people in the car with him needed him to be strong. Pulling down the roads as Elizabeta directed him, they slowly wound through the deepest parts of the forest and away from immediate danger

Ludwig didn't pay attention to what was going on around him, instead he focused and clinging to good memories. He thought of the happiest times of his life, anything that would distract him from the chilling terror that was welling up inside his chest.

Memories. Focus. He remembered the nights when his brother would play the flute. How beautiful the sound was, though he'd never openly say it. He wasn't supposed to like beautiful things after all. From there he thought about cooking with their father and felt the faintest urge to chuckle at his own OCD tendencies. Days he spent sitting with Feliciano talking about nothing.

He thought about being little... Gilbert protected him then. He thought about thunderstorms, and moving through the dark hallways so he could climb into bed with his older brother, and suddenly it wasn't him being held by his older brother as a child, it was him holding a sleeping Italian.

He had so much to be thankful for.

Ludwig felt the tear on his face long after it had slipped from his closed eyes. He had kept what remained of his family safe, and even some new friends. That was all that mattered.

"Drive to the south end love... There'll be a dirt road to the right. Follow it for a bit." Eliza said as they passed the other car. She frowned first t Gilbert and then at Ludwig, but made no comment on the increasingly depressed atmosphere filling the small confines of the car.

~X~

"Oh God...oh God...Oh God." Arthur whispered with a terrified shudder the moment Antonio started driving down the road. Catching the other's pulling out behind them he let out a small sigh of relief and leaned his forehead against Antonio's shoulder with a sob of relief. This was all too much...this moment of security that they found was enough to shock him afresh the minute he had managed to let his guard down. "We did it...we're ok." He whispered clinging onto Antonio desperately as he attempted to shut out the noise of crunching bone while Antonio careened over the infected who leapt out in front of them.

Antonio wrapped one arm around Arthur tightly. Driving was the last thing he wanted to be doing. He was shuddering badly and slipping into his own state of panic, but Arthur needed him to be strong, so he would try his best. He forced a smile to his face as his grip subconsciously tightened around Arthur.

"Si! We made it. We are ok. The others are too. It's ok amor, We're safe. We're fine, Shhh." He soothed, though his voice sounded as shaky as he felt.

"I know...I know it's ok." Arthur whispered kissing Antonio's cheek with a shudder and clenching his eyes shut. "Are you ok?" He asked softly his shoulder throbbing painfully now that he was checking himself over for injury.

Antonio smile gained a hint of actual warmth from the simple gesture, though he still felt ready to break. Was he ok? In theory he was fine, at least in a physical sense. "I'm alright. I'm ok. I think some of the worse of cuts on my shoulder reopened, and I have new bruises, but I'm fine. What about you? IS your shoulder alright?" He asked, not daring to take his eyes off the road. Not because he was afraid of running in to things, but because he was almost afraid of what Arthur might find in his eyes.

"I'm... "Arthur hesitated, his hand reaching up to touch his bruised shoulder with a wince. "Well...Elizabeta did a number on my shoulder." He admitted with a sigh not wanting to lie when there was no point in hiding that he was in pain from the man who would find out one way or another anyway "Other than that I'm fine. You didn't let them get close enough to hurt me." He explained his shuddering easing slightly as they pulled away from the small town.

"Mmm... I think there is an cold compress in the first aid kit. Once we find a safe place, we can ice your shouler, si? Is it just bruised really bad or do you think there is more damage we can't see?" The Spaniard asked, actually grateful to have something to get his mind off of the zombie, even if that meant dealing with an injury of Arthur's.

"A cold compress would be lovely." Arthur muttered pulling his shirt aside as Gilbert sped by to reveal the black, purple, and blue bruise coloring his shoulder blade.

In all honesty he he didn't know if it was broken or not. The skin was already a menagerie of different colored bruises, but he was no doctor for all he knew it was probably just a bruised muscle. He didn't need to worry Antonio, if it was a break there was nothing they could do anyway, not if the injury was on his shoulder.

"I...I think that I bruised the muscle, hell maybe even the damned bone, but I don't think that anything's broken." He promised grimacing as he pulled his shirt back over his shoulder before Antonio could look over at him. "Damn it, what were we saying about speaking to Gilbert about _not_ getting hurt earlier?" He demanded with a small shaky smile as he attempted to comfort the man in any way he knew how while also changing the subject. "Perhaps we should just lock me in a nice cushioned room, I might be less likely to get myself hurt then." He chuckled humorlessly, glancing over at his boyfriend with a grin.

Antonio smiled a little more at the Englishman's attempt to joke, even letting out a quiet chuckle. "I don't think even a padded room would keep you completely safe, mi amor. Certainly make it harder for you to get hurt though. We might have to find a way to wrap it up. We'll have to look when we get to where ever it is they're leading us." He promised, relaxing further when it appeared the other car had a destination in mind*

"That sounds like a plan to me." Arthur muttered leaning back against the chair and glancing up at Antonio with a small sigh when he spotted the worry in Antonio's eyes. Reaching out slowly he squeezed the man's knee gently afraid that taking his hands away from the wheel could be dangerous. "We'll get patched up there, maybe actually get some sleep this time."

"You and I both need sleep badly." Antonio sighed in agreement. He would have taken Arthur's hand but his grip on the wheel was tight enough to make his knuckles stiff. He thought against it. What a day, and just one more place they had been driven from by the undead. He shivered as fear began to catch up with him, his never failing panic attack _after_ the event slowly setting in. "M-Medicine too." He said after a minute, forcing the smile again and trying to busy his mind once more. "Medicine. We can see if there is something to... to help the pain. Si? Have you ever had to wrap a shoulder wound? I hearthatitisreallydifficultandthatittakespatiencce and…" He rambled as he started to speak faster until he wasn't even speaking English anymore, instead rapid fire Spanish spewed from his mouth, his eyes huge as he followed behind Gilbert. The only thing on his mind was a single fact: 'We almost died.'

"Antonio...Antonio calm...would you just...ANTHONY!" Arthur yelped slapping the man across the face sharply when he began to ramble. Looking up at him when the man looked shocked he looked down at his hand in surprise. ''I...I'm so sorry." He whispered looking ashamed for striking the man even if it didn't harm him per say. "I didn't mean...I just didn't know how to calm you...I'm so sorry Antonio, I didn't..." He rambled his face aghast with surprise at his own actions.

Antonio looked stunned. He wrenched one of his hands from the wheel and lifted it to his stinging cheek, keeping his eyes fixed forward. Here he was, messing up again... The panic surged around him, doubling in strength as it competed with itself. Zombies vs. his terror at upsetting Arthur. Instead of rambling though he just held it inside, keeping his teeth locked together against it and his eyes never strayed from the tail lights in front of him. He wasn't angry at all, maybe a little hurt, but not angry, and yet he couldn't form words.

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**And so you are all left with a really nasty cliff hanger... Not really it could be worse. Review! We like knowing what you all think :)**


	7. Chapter 7

***Dances* It's Saturday~! *sobs* Oh wait... **

**Warnings: Don't cry my children... people die... It is a fact of life. Angst angst angst...**

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They had nearly reached the cabin when Ludwig felt a cough break though his lips with enough force to sending him lurching forward. Hacking noisily into his arm, he tasted blood at the back of his throat and flinched with a spray of the crimson liquid sprayed onto his hand.

No! Not yet! He couldn't... Not yet. They weren't safe yet. He just had to think of happy thoughts.

Clenching his eyes shut, he concentrated, digging up the even happier times of his life, some simple, some much grander and more extravagant. His mind wandered to his first kiss with Feliciano under the tree in his back yard. The ditsy, tawny haired man had fallen from the tree. He had been so focused on taking care of the scrapes Feli that he didn't realize that Feliciano was leaning forward until they were kissing. Gentle. Sweet. Terrifying.

His mind shifted again, remembering the way Gilbert's face would go from exhausted, tired, and rundown to happy, loving and affectionate as soon as Ludwig appeared. He remembered encouraging Gilbert to talk to the beautiful girl at the coffee shop with the flower in her hair and the twinkle in her eye. Then his excitement for his brother at his and Eliza's wedding. He never thought he'd see the day his brother had tears in his eyes.

He recalled Gilbert taking him home from the hospital a month after the terrible car accident that wiped his memory for a good few months. How his brother had refused to just give up on him, and worked with him until his memories came flooding back.

Ludwig felt his heart clench painfully in his chest at the thought. Damn it... here he was, giving up on one of his favorite people in the entire world because of some stupid pandemic and a minor injury.

He barely noticed another tear sliding down his cheek. Why should he hold them in at this point?

"There! Gilbert right there!" Elizabeta said with a squeak after about half an hour of driving up winding dirt paths. Gilbert had almost driven right past the sheltered cabin in his haste to find somewhere safe for his family to rest. It wasn't much, but to the family's exhausted minds it looked like the grandest mansion ever.

Gilbert jumped nearly a foot in the air when Ludwig hacked behind him wetly into his hands. Jerking the wheel to the side as Elizabeta shouted he swore and narrowly avoided slamming into a tree as he pulled into the grass filled lawn of the small cabin.

"Gott verdammt Elizabeta could you _not_ shout!?" He yelped his heart pounding against his chest as he reached up to wipe the sweat out of his eyes. Taking a shuddering breath he turned back to Ludwig to apologize only to hesitate.

His brother's skin had turned a sickly green grey color, the bags under his eyes a dark purple even in the darkness that surrounded them, and though he tried to hide it...there was blood dripping from the man's face.

"Lud... Ludwig what's wrong?!"he demanded throwing open the car door and stepping into the clearing before throwing open his brother's door and moving so he could examine him. "Gott, Ludwig what's wrong bruderchen? Are... Are you hurt?" He demanded brushing the sweat soaked hair from his brother's face with a shaking hand just as he had done those nights that Ludwig had come into his room plagued by nightmares or scared by a storm. 'Gott...what...?" he stammered as he scanned his brother over in a panic. His brother's strained face resembled that of the night they had been in the accident that killed their mother and wiped Ludwig's memory: Scared, confused, pained. Just like the last time he didn't know what to do.

"Gilbert, you have to trust me. Go. Just go inside and leave me, Bitte." Ludwig rasped harshly, his beautiful blue eyes, usually so bright and full of life even if they were too serious all the time, were slowly losing their luster and hazing over. He was afraid, knowing he may as well be dying, slowly becoming one of the infected hardly counted as living any more. Gilbert and Eliza they weren't safe, and they wouldn't be until they were inside. He had to get them far away from him.

With badly shaking hands the blonde reached for the collar of his shirt wanting to pull it down. He knew exactly what would be found there. A monstrous gruesome wound, almost circular in shape stretched over the bone and soft flesh. He didn't know what to do. What to say. Part of him felt so sick with himself, so disgusted for not having said something back at the house. He should have tried to get them to just leave him, but part of him knew Gilbert would have insisted on bringing him with anyway, insisting stubbornly that he was fine even though they both would have known he wasn't.

"Es tut mir leid..." He whispered brokenly, allowing his hand to fall away from the shirt as Gilbert seemed to deflate in front of him. He had seen Gilbert deal with depression before, and he knew deep inside this would tear his alter bruder, the only constant in his life, to shreds.*

"Ludwig, what happened to..." Gilbert's eyes flickered to his brother's collar as Ludwig's hand moved up to the clothing that he now noticed was soaked crimson, a patch that he had assumed was the blood of an infected until just then. With a shuddering hand, Gilbert reached out and pulled down the collar slowly.

The feeling of grief and shock that filled his mind as the wound slowly came into view, the cloth peeling away from the festering wound slowly. Choking silently Gilbert jerked back and let a small silent wail fall from his lips as realization hit him like a brick slamming into his skull. Stumbling out of the car he began to move around the clearing with a small sob his hands pulling at his hair as he began shouting furiously at the sky.

~X~

Elizabeta very quickly got out of the car and made her way over to Antonio and Arthur's truck when the vehicle rolled to a stop, subconsciously casting a fearful glance at Ludwig. She loved him too, of course, but if he was going to become very much like the things they had been fighting, she didn't want to be near him. She knocked on the window to the back door of the car and Antonio almost mechanically unlocked it for her. She slid into their car quietly and watched her husband, waiting for him to calm down before trying to comfort him. At both Antonio and Arthur's questioning glances she just shook her head, eyes clouded with grief.

"Elizabeta...what happened?" Arthur whispered looking back at the woman with wide eyes. When he caught the look of grief in the woman's eyes he felt realization well up in his chest and looked away a moment before stepping out of the car and moving into the back seat so he could wrap the woman in a comforting hug silently.

Elizabeta sobbed quietly in Arthur's arms, immediately drawn to the comfort of the warmth his body gave off. "N-n-no... anyone b-but those two... G-Gil needs his brother... N-needs him..." She wailed against Arthur's good shoulder.

Wincing at the woman's distress, Arthur shuddered slightly as he realized what must be happening "I'm so sorry Elizabeta...my God I am so sorry." He whispered rubbing her back gently.

"No... No no no... Why? He's already lost enough today! Don't mention GOD! If he cared, If he even cared for a second he wouldn't be taking everything away from my Gilbert. He wouldn't be letting this happen! What kind of God sits by and watches his so called 'children' be destroyed? DAMN him!" Elizabeta growled, sobbing hysterically into Arthur's chest.

Arthur sighed as he held the woman closer to him. He didn't know how to comfort the woman, what to say. He had never been through anything that Elizabeta was suffering through so instead he just held her and nodded patting her back gently. Looking up at Antonio, he sent a grief stricken look at him as tears rolled down his pale cheeks. He didn't know what to do.

"Eliza... Don't give up hope. Things are bad now, but you have Gilbert, and he has you, and right now he is really going to need you. Need you to stay strong, to love him, to just be there for him. Hate El Dio all you want, but don't you dare give up. We are all going to survive this, si? I am so sorry amiga... Lo siento... Lo siento... But you stay strong. That's the best thing to do to help Gilbert." Antonio said softly, forgetting the bulk of his own panic and his momentary hurt at Arthur's flustered actions to help comfort this poor, breaking woman.

He squeezed his way into the back seat and encircled both Arthur and the shuddering Hungarian in his arms, pulling them close to his warm, exotic scented chest. Elizabeta continued to cry hysterically, though she stopped shouting profanities at her God. Her head rested against Arthur's shoulder and her leafy green eyes were closed, as deep inside she tried to shut off the flood of emotions. Arthur and Antonio were right... Everything would be ok.

~X~

"Nein..._nein_!" Gilbert roared his voice cracking as he kicked at a rotten fence post. "Not you...NOT YOU!" He screamed looking over at his brother as he fought to come to terms with what was happening.  
"You can't be...nein...nicht mein bruderchen!" He wailed forlornly swearing and punching at the same post. It wasn't right, he was supposed to protect his brother, he was supposed to be the awesome knight in shining armor that always came to save the day when his brother needed him just like in the stories he told Ludwig when he was younger.

"Bruder... Bruder please calm down..." Ludwig rasped, breaking into another coughing fit as blood spurted from his mouth. He didn't know how to comfort his brother, if there was even a way to at this point. Gilbert had gone through so much. He had endured so much pain. He had lost Ludwig once when he was a boy, but he had come back. Ludwig had watched that event tear a huge hole in his brother's life, even though at the time it had been through the eyes of a stranger. He wished he didn't have to put him through it for real this time. "Bruder... I'm sorry... Es tut mir leid. I tried so hard. Bitte. Don't worry... you have to be strong. You have to be Gilbert... Unbreakable... It will be ok. Bitte... Calm down bruder... Go inside ok? You... I don't want you to remember me like this. Dying and sick like this... Bitte. Just go in."

Gilbert paced for a few moments longer before he was finally able to control himself. He had to be strong for his brother...Ludwig needed him. Maybe it wasn't deadly, maybe he wouldn't change. Gilbert couldn't believe his own thoughts, knowing several who had died believing the same thing when their family members had changed. Running his hands through his hair he clenched his eyes shut and took a shuddering breath before turning to his brother with a broken look in his eyes.

"I...I wont leave you like this Luddy."Gilbert whispered moving up to his brother and pulling him into his arms gently his entire body shuddering as he kissed the younger German's temple. "I...I know you tried. You did...you did so well." He stammered his face burying into his brother's hair with a shudder. "Gott Lud...don't... don't leave me." He whimpered emptily feeling the walls of his world crumbling around him.

"Gil... G-Gil... Nein you shouldn't... Bitte. Bitte just go! Why won't you leave? I... I don't want to die bruder... I don't want to die... "He whispered, clinging desperately to the front of his brother's shirt and pressing his face against his chest. He couldn't just leave. He couldn't just become one of these things. Mindless, hungry flesh eaters. He also couldn't just leave his brother alone.

Then again, He wouldn't truly be alone. He still had Eliza.

Ludwig sighed allowing the tears to fall freely down his cheeks. This was it. His life was closing. Diming. Dying. Ceasing to exist for the rest of eternity. But, they'd meet again, and it was that fact that he clung to desperately as he spent the last moments of his life in Gilbert's shuddering, pale arms.

They would meet again...

Gilbert allowed his brother to yell at him to leave silently, waiting for him to give up the idea that he was going anywhere. Rocking him slowly as the boy broke down in his arms. "It'll be ok bruderchen, I promise. Don't be afraid, I'm not going anywhere." He whispered softly, kissing his temple and feeling tears rolling down his face. "I won't leave you, and I will never let you turn into one of those creatures. Do you understand me? You will not be a monster. I won't let you become like them." He promised holding Ludwig as tightly as he could as he felt the life slowly fading from his brother. Shuddering he continued rocking slowly in an attempt to comfort him like he had when Ludwig was a child. "Bruderchen...You trust me right? Ich liebe dich. everything is going to be ok."

"I can't just ask you to kill me bruderlein. I can't do that to you. I can't..." Ludwig rasped softly, wanting to believe his brother when he said everything being ok, but knowing that there was very little hope for him. He trusted his brother with all his heart, and if he said that he wouldn't become a monster, he believed him, but just because he wasn't going to be a zombie didn't mean he wasn't going to die. He was afraid. Truly afraid. He didn't want to die! "Bruder... Bitte... I don't want to hurt you. Ich liebe dich auch... Don't let me hurt you, or anyone else… Bitte. Bitte!" He sobbed, shuddering in Gilbert's arms as his strength ebbed away. It was getting harder to see. To think. To hang on to his brother. He felt so cold.

Gilbert wanted nothing more than to lie, to tell his brother that everything was going to be fine, that he was going to recover and that they were going to carry on like nothing happened, but he could already see the realization in Ludwig's eyes. Even if he did say that it would be ok…Ludwig wouldn't believe a word of it.

"I…I don't know what I'm going to do bruderchen, but I promise you that I will never let you hurt anyone." Gilbert whispered running his fingers through his brother's hair gently. Rocking slowly back and forward he kissed his temple and shuddered softly tears rolling down his cheeks, the only warmth in his frigid body. "Bruder…do you remember what I would tell you when you woke up in the middle of the night and there was a storm outside that scared you?" he asked softly, when the man nodded he smiled shakily the tears in his eyes choking his voice "I…I would tell you that…that there was nothing to be afraid of, because Mutter was watching over you with Jesus. That…that they wouldn't let anything happen to you no matter what, and if something did manage to get past them, that I would be there for you always."He pointed out softly a despondent, reminiscent smile hovering on his lips encouragingly.  
'There…there's nothing to be afraid of bruder. Vati, Mutti…Feli…they're all there. Waiting for you where it's safe and there's no more of these…these creatures." He pointed out rocking him gently. "Don't be afraid bruderchen, when you wake up they'll be with you, and….and I promise I'll see you again. It might take months…maybe years, but someday I will be right there next to you and we can be together forever…just like I promised we would be.

Ludwig sobbed quietly, not responding for a painfully long handful of minutes. He could feel Feli tugging at his hand, his Vati's hand on his shoulder… Even his Mutti, her arms ghosting gently across his tear streaked cheek.

"Luddy… Luddy ibeling, it's time to let go…" She whispered softly, a whisper in the frigid wind that swirled around them. He knew he wasn't allowed to go with them just yet the disease still gripped at his all but dead body. With a shudder his eyes closed and his breath came in shallow breaths. "I will always watch over you bruder… I will _always_ watch… Always keep you safe… Always be with you, even though you won't be able to see me… I know you can survive this, but you have to be strong… Ich liebe dich bruder… *He whispered, voice barely a whisper. With a gasp, his hands slipped away from Gilbert's collar and he slumped forward against his brother, stilling with one final shudder… Though it was only a matter of time

"Don't…don't say that! You..you aren't gone yet! We…we still have time. Just…just hold on ok? We'll…we'll try to figure something out." Gilbert stammered as he saw the life flooding from his brother's sightless eyes. After a few moments, he felt his brother's hand slip away from his shirt with a shudder and a final gasp for air "L…Lud? Luddy? H…hey! Can you hear me? Bruder…bruder wake up!" Choking as his mind flashed back to the night he held his mother in his arms as she slipped away still trying to tell him that things would be ok he pulled his brother into his shoulder with a silent wail. "Nein…bruder nein!" He sobbed his lips quivering as he gently pat his cheek and shook his brother fiercely. "Bruderchen bitte! Don't leave me! BRUDER! *He screamed his voice carrying over to the truck where the trio was sitting.

Sobbing he ran his hands through Ludwig's hair and kissed at his temple and cheek attempting to earn a flicker of life from his brother. "Bitte Ludwig…bitte don't you leave me too! _Ludwig_!" He wailed rocking back and forward brokenly as his brother's lifeless body remained rigid.

Sobbing hysterically, Gilbert settled his brother onto the ground and stumbled back. He promised…he had promised his brother that he wouldn't let him turn, and damn it he wasn't going to break his last promise. "Es tut mir lied…Es tut mir lied bruderchen…Gott… It should have been me!" He sobbed pulling his gun from his pocket and kneeling down to press the barrel against his brother's temple " Es tut mir lied…forgive me…Bruder I'm so sorry…" The gun had gone off, but he didn't hear the noise that accompanied the bullet.. For a brief moment, warmth swirled around Gilbert, feeling of grief and love before it faded away completely, leaving behind a lifeless body, drained of color and splattered in gore. His hands, coated in the blood from the infected he had killed now mingling with the blood of his own brother. Choking he allowed the gun to fall from his hands with a clatter as a silent, heartbroken wail fell from his lips. Ludwig was gone.

~X~

Arthur flinched as he heard Gilbert's plaintive sobs breaking through the air. His grip tightening on Elizabeta he looked up at Antonio. "Oh God...I think it's over." Arthur whispered in a panic as he heard Gilbert's wails start up with a new ferocity. "Antonio he's going to turn! We have to..." He broke off into a stunned silence as a gunshot blasted through the air the noise ringing out of existence and leaving the air around them humming with realization of what had just happened.

"I sh-should... I sh-sh-should... Go." Elizabeta managed to say, her eyes flying wide at the ringing gun shot. Her emerald eyes went dull with realization rimmed and puffy, tears still streaming down her face, she looked the epitome of a woman at her limit. Stiffly she untangled herself from the two men's arms and opened the door before slowly walking to Gilbert's side.

As best as she could she avoided looking down at the Ludwig's deceased form where he lay on the ground, instead she knelt beside her husband and pulled him tight against her in a fierce hug. Leaning forward, she kissed his temple and ran her fingers through his silver locks, all the while wanting nothing more than to give him his brother back, his family back... "Gil... I am sorry... Shhh... Oh Gilbert... Gilbert I'm so sorry... I love you. It will be alright. I don't know how, but it will be... "

. He didn't hear Elizabeta approach, or feel her wrap him in her arms. Instead he simply stared down at his hands, blaming them for not being there when his brother needed them. It was his fault...he should have been on guard that night, not his brother. He should have either been there, or been the one bitten. It was his fault damn it all...it was all his fault

Elizabeta held Gilbert close and slowly, gently took one of his bloodied hands in hers, wiping off the crimson liquid as best she could with her shirt. She knew exactly what he was thinking, how could she not? He always found a way to blame himself for every little thing that caused one of his friends of family member's pain. It wasn't his fault though. It wasn't anyone's fault. It was just an a soft whimper she buried her face in his hair and rubbed his back, rocking back and forth slowly and humming as evenly as she could, trying to calm him, to bring him back to her. "

"It isn't your fault Gil... It isn't your fault..."

Gilbert sat in silence for a long while, his eyes never flickering from the spot on the ground onto which they had locked onto. His mind hummed with grief and fury at both himself and the world they had been shoved into. He was never one to give up on anything, he was fiercely stubborn in that regard, but in that moment his mind flickered, if only momentarily, to the idea of ending it all. He quickly shoved the idea away though as he felt Elizabeta's gentle touch on his back and heard her soft voice attempting to pull him back to reality. Elizabeta needed him, she was all he had left at this point, and damn it he was going to protect her. Shifting slightly, he pulled Elizabeta into his arms and buried his face into the crook of her neck.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered his hold almost painful around her. "I promise you...I promise I'll never let them hurt you."

"I know you won't Gil. I know." Elizabeta soothed, not wanting to point out that his promise to her was a little, extreme. It was hard enough to survive each new attack, let alone not be hurt by the infected creatures, but if it made him feel better to promise this, who was she to question it? She winced as his arms restricted her air flow, but didn't try to wiggle from the hold, instead she just wrapped her arms around him tighter and kissing his mess of silvery locks. "Everything will be alright Gil... We'll make it through this."

"We will make it through this...whether or not I have to kill every last one of those damned infected bastards with my bare hands." Gilbert spat his arms shuddering around Elizabeta furiously. These creatures stole everything from him, and he had no intentions to let them take away the last thing he had to call his own. "You and me, we're getting out of here Elizabeta. For Ludwig..." He whispered kissing her temple gently and wiping the tears from his eyes furiously. "We have to bury him..." he grumbled standing with a shudder and pulling Elizabeta to her feet. They didn't have time to grieve, he wasn't sure how much time they had to begin with, but he wasn't going to let them befoul his brother's body.

Elizabeta fixed Gilbert with determined, yet still sorrowful eyes and nodded, agreeing that they couldn't just leave him there. "I don't know how we'll dig, but we won't let those things touch him Gil. I promise. I have every intention of getting out of here with you Gilbert. I have every intention of surviving this, and if not, well I'm giving it my best shot. I love you Gil." She said with newfound strength and resolve.

Gilbert nodded grimly down at her and leaned in to kiss her gently, the kiss soft and searching for comfort that he didn't dare ask for out loud. "Ich liebe dich Elizabeta." he whispered when he pulled away scanning around the area for anything they could use to bury his brother. "We...we could always cremate him. We might not have time to bury him." He pointed out when he couldn't find anything to use as a shovel in the area. The sick feeling in his body, the burning sensation of grief rolling through his body, intensified as he realized he was attempting to find a way to lay the brother he had spent so long caring for to rest for the final time

Elizabeta tried to convey all of her love into the too quick kiss and she pressed a cold hand against Gilbert's cheek when he pulled away, eyes soft and forlorn as she looked up at him. "Whatever you want to do, love, I will help you. Cremating him might be easier than burying him..."

~X~

Antonio watched Elizabeta leave, feeling her grief as if it was his brother-in-law that had just died instead of hers. The poor woman, he didn't know how else to help the couple, and he figured him trying to help was the last thing either of them wanted. So, instead of getting out of the car, he just wrapped his arms more securely around Arthur and pulled him back against his chest, holding back his swirl of emotions.

"W...what are we going to do now?" Arthur whispered pressing his tear streaked face into Antonio's shoulder and shivering violently. The pain in his shoulder, and the regret of slapping Antonio shoved out of his mind. He didn't have time to worry about such petty things "We can't just stay here. I mean what if those things heard that shot?" He asked peeking up at the man through his lashes.

Antonio pressed his lips against Arthur's temple and held him tightly, trying to comfort him and slow his shivering. "We let them grieve amor. We watch for the demon creatures and let them grieve. We won't stay overnight, but we can't expect them, either one of them, to drive in this state." He pointed out reasonably.

Arthur nodded grimly and clenched his eyes shut a moment, his arms moving so they could wrap around Antonio's neck. Holding him tightly he shakily kissed the man's collar with a shudder, feeling tears streak down his face. The idea that it might have been Antonio instead of Ludwig weighed heavily on his mind. He felt terrible for thinking it, but he knew that if it came down to saving one of the others or Antonio, he would chose Antonio everytime.

"I love you." He whispered softly, clenching his eyes closed. "Please...don't ever leave me."

Antonio looked down at Arthur with soft eyes full of both terror at the idea of losing Arthur, and brilliant, affectionate adoration. He was never planning on going anywhere. Not without Arthur. Heart filling to the point of bursting at the Englishman's words he felt tears of his own well in his eyes, thoughts no doubt mirroring Arthur's. What would he do if he lost this man? He felt sick just thinking about it. "Te quiero Arthur... I will never leave you. I promise."

Arthur nodded slightly at the affectionate words, holding Antonio tighter a moment and kissing him fiercely before pulling away his eyes flashing determinedly. "We need to help them. Whether or not they decide to bury the body or not one of us is going to have to drive with them, and the other will have to drive this car. We can't risk leaving either of the trucks behind." Nodding, Antonio kissed him back quickly, knowing they didn't have time for anything longer. He reached for the door handle and smiled slightly at Arthur.

" Let's go see if they need help si? If so, we'll help them until we're ready to go. If not, well either way actually, you drive with them. Leaving one of the trucks behind at this point is a stupid move, you're right." Antonio sighed, earning a frown from Arthur.

"I suppose...but maybe you should drive with them? You drove last and I don't like the idea of you driving alone as exhausted as you are." The Englishman whispered as he moved out of the car.

Antonio got out of the car after him with a raised eye brow, already shaking his head at the idea. Arthur would be safer with two others than he would be on his own. "Not a chance. You are not driving alone. I don't want something to happen to you when I'm not there right beside you."

"Blast I forgot how stubborn you are." Arthur sighed heavily running a hand through his tangled hair as they approached the grieving couple. "Fine. I'll drive with them if it will make you happier." Arthur murmured, averting his gaze from the corpse lying prone on the ground before them.

Hesitating a moment, he fought the urge to be sick as he spotted the wound on Ludwig's forehead. Clenching his eyes shut he shuddered, what a horrible world they had been shoved into. Moving up beside the couple he sighed.

"We're here to help." He explained his voice gentle. Hearing the man speak, Gilbert glanced first at Elizabeta and then to the two men in front of him as he sighed shakily.

"Alright...I...I think we should cremate him. We...we don't have time to..." The German broke off cursing as a fresh tear rolled down his cheek slowly. Steeling himself he shuddered and fixed his gaze onto the men again. "I'll need your help, we'll need wood and...Some gasoline if you can spare it...matches...I think I have those in my truck" Sighing, Elizabeta stretched up on her toes and kissed the tear away before she looked towards the truck.

" I know where the matches are... Would you like me to get them?" She asked softly. Gilbert nodded gratefully at the two and sighed running a hand across Elizabeta's cheek before allowing her to move away from him to search the truck.

"Gasoline? We have a little left in the spare tank, not enough to help much in the trucks, but there should be enough for this." Antonio stated after a moment, knowing it was a waste of resources, but not having the heart to argue against him. Gilbert nodded and sighed, standing stiffly.

"Then I guess...I'll start collecting wood." He mumbled glancing at his brother's prone form and clenching his eyes shut.

"I'll help, no need for you to wander off on your own just yet." Arthur sighed stepping forward slowly when the Albino turned to leave. "Especially not if the infected heard the shot."

"Sure. "Gilbert muttered, too exhausted to argue at that point. Glancing at Antonio, Arthur frowned back at him when he caught the concerned look in the man's eyes.

"We'll be right back, and we'll be within shouting distance." The Brit promised, following after Gilbert as the German stepped into the forest in search of wood dry enough to burn.

* * *

**Well now that we have torn your hearts out... Feel free to leave us stuff! Angry whys as you shout at the sky, tears, pitchforks... *cough reviews cough cough* **


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry this one is so long guys! At least the update is earlier in the day than usual? **

**Warnings: Sleepy people, hostility, tears.**

* * *

It was a relief when the bedraggled, grief stricken group pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned looking, though still intact and strangely unharmed hotel. They had left before the sun had risen, the place they had originally picked to stay not providing a safe enough place to sleep, even with the vehicles. Everyone was feeling exhaustion catching up to them from the hasty escape back at the house.

Antonio was finally able to relax as he shut the engine of their truck off, the silence that followed strangely eerie and heavy. Why someone would build such a large, somewhat grand looking place at the way outskirts of town, he didn't know but he wasn't going to complain. The further out of town they were, the less zombies, and the less zombies there were, the less likely anyone was going to get bitten.

He shivered with the thought as he remembered Ludwig's death a few nights before, disgustingly grateful it had been the stranger instead of Arthur or even Elizabeta or Gilbert. Glancing over at Arthur as they got out of their truck though, he wondered if maybe his Englishman was thinking similarly. Such horrible thoughts were pushed away as the other couple got out of their truck and approached them.

"You think maybe we can be safe here a few hours, amor? We could use the sleep... And supplies." He mumbled as they waited for Gilbert and Elizabeta to come in earshot without having to yell. It hadn't bothered him so much driving, as wary as he was looking for the living dead, but now that they had stopped he all but swayed with exhaustion.

Arthur started as Antonio spoke, his mind having wandered while he stared out at the scenery around them. He was feeling exhaustion almost as bad as Antonio; that much was apparent in his eyes. Looking up, he smiled sleepily at the Spaniard and nodded. "I hope so...because we haven't slept in a damn bed since back at your place." He murmured, softly stretching and eyeing the hotel with hopeful eyes. They might have to stay regardless of what Gilbert decided.

"A bed would be nice... I'd love a bed... Though at this point, I just want to sleep somewhere... If that means on the floor, or in a bathtub, so be it... I am tired enough to sleep through a whole army of zombies right now..." Antonio mumbled, smiling back just as sleepily with his joke, even if the words held completely true. He slowly leaned in and kissed Arthur, the motion sore and stiff but still full of love, just as Gilbert and Elizabeta came up to them.

Elizabeta looked at the hotel warily, then at Gilbert, then at the sleepy looking men before her with a slight frown. This place looked quite enough, but it would be difficult to leave if something happened. "Are we sure we should stop here? We won't be able to easily get back to the trucks from in there..." She reasoned before anyone could say anything.

"We'll check it out at least. Only stay on the bottom floor if we sleep. It'll be fine Liza. I wouldn't risk it if it wasn't for the fact that I _need_ sleep… and from the looks of you two, sleep is something you'd welcome too." Gilbert muttered. His head hadn't stopped spinning with the images of his brother, dead, who knew how many miles behind them instead of standing beside him like he should have been.

"Do you think they'll have coffee?" He asked shakily, attempting fruitlessly to escape the tormenting thoughts. He had been struggling to smile since the night that he lost his brother, trying to prove that he was alright to his overly doting wife. Deep down, he wasn't.

"I'm sure we can find you coffee, dear... Coffee, and hey. Maybe even a nice beer... We can stay on the bottom floor to sleep, scavenge through things on the second floor, maybe even the third..." Elizabeta sighed and leaned into her husband, eyes ever worried for him. "I know you need sleep, dear... I know... We can sleep for a bit... Figure out where we are going from here." It was so hard to pretend she didn't see the depression that swamped Gilbert's crimson eyes, knowing he hated for her to worry.

"Whatever we decide, make it soon. Antonio's threatening to fall asleep with the undead, and I don't want to have to carry him through those things." Arthur teased halfheartedly, placing his chin sleepily onto Antonio's shoulder from behind. "Are we going to clear out the hotel first? Magnetize a room key? Or can I just sleep under the front desk?" He demanded a bit groggily, giggling stupidly at his own comment. How long had it been since he had managed to sleep more than two hours at a time? Two...three days now? How long had it been for any of them for that matter?

"Right now all I want is a pillow." Gilbert sighed, kissing the top of Elizabeta's head and turning towards the hotel. "We'll check the place out before we sleep, I don't want any nasty surprises in the middle of the night that we'd be in no condition to fight off. Antonio...take Arthur and check the bottom floor, Elizabeta and I will check the second. Give the doors a good kick and they'll open."

Arthur whined softly at the idea of moving, the noise only audible enough for Antonio to catch. As much as he hated to admit it though, Gilbert had a point. It was better to be safe and zombie free.

Antonio laughed softly as Arthur whined, but as Gilbert and Elizabeta moved away, he realized the instructions had flown right over his head. He had tried to listen to Gilbert, but the English words, heavily accented as they were, didn't make any sense to his Spanish wired brain with how dead tired he was. It left him to stare blankly at Gilbert and Eliza, eyes burning with the effort of staying open. "¿Q-Qué?" He asked, stifling a yawn.

"Check for anything of use... Food, weapons, clothing... Anything that looks useful." Elizabeta called quietly with a sigh. She was probably the most rested, seeing as Gilbert didn't let her drive very often. Only when he was past exhausted.

"We'll do our best." Arthur assured with a slight grin. Kissing Antonio's neck before standing back with a grumble, he moved to the hotel with his gun in his free hand, capturing Antonio's hand with the other. "C'mon love... don't fall asleep standing up again." He ordered teasingly, squeezing his hand as he pushed open the door slowly.

All joking aside, his exhausted eyes scanned through the darkness slowly in search of any infected. It'd be just his luck to be relatively happy and have an infected jump out them. "Looks all clear." He sighed to Antonio, stepping inside slowly. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Gilbert appeared beside them.

"It's quiet...but keep an eye out for anything. I don't want any accidents today." The albino man snapped grumpily, his brother's rifle in his hands as he trotted up the stairs. A bag for supplies was slung over his shoulder. It occurred to him he had been a bit rude in his command, but he brushed it aside as he pushed in front of his wife.

"Do you want to check all the rooms dear? At least all the ones that open?" Eliza asked soothingly, flinching at the rough way Gilbert pressed in front of her. She knew he was just hurting and wanting to keep her safe.

Gilbert barely nodded before he kicked open one of the doors furiously and peered inside. There was nothing but a well cleaned room behind the door. Not even mattresses remained on the beds. He growled and slammed the door closed again, denting the wood with the butt of his gun so he would know he checked it already. "Not a verdammt thing" He growled.

"Inglés... Odio el inglés. Es una idioma horrible" Antonio grumbled to himself as he watched for the infected, keeping an eye out as Arthur went about opening the doors of each room. The farther they traveled into the hotel, the darker it got, and the worse it started to smell, but it looked safe enough. It looked like a place to sleep.

Arthur chuckled humorously at his Spaniards declaration of hatred for the English language. While he didn't speak Spanish fluently, he had managed through the years to pick up enough of the language to understand what Antonio had said, even as exhausted as he was. "Hate it? Mmm... I don't think you _hate_ it, love." He laughed once more as they reached the end of the hall.

Holding up a bag full of clothes and supplies that they had located, he turned around and kissed Antonio's cheek. "Come on grumpy...let's find the others shall we?"

"Sí... Lo odio. Lo odio con todo mi corazón... Antonio grumbled in response, his head throbbing from sleep deprivation. He promptly refused to speak English, hating the language more because it was easier to speak in Spanish. Wanting to be stubborn was a part of it as well. "¿Gruñón? Yo no soy gruñón... ¿Quieren ver de gruñón? Vaya a nuestro amigo de albino. Yo no soy gruñón..."

Chuckling in genuine amusement as Antonio continued to rant to himself in Spanish while digging through some abandoned luggage, Arthur moved up behind him and hugged him tightly. Kissing his neck, he grinned at the startled look on the man's face. "Now now love...I don't speak Spanish, and though I find it sexy when you talk in your native tongue, I don't have the brain power to even attempt to translate what you're saying right now."

Antonio's eyes narrowed as he paused in his muttering, irritated and tired and just wanting to pull Arthur into his arms and go to sleep. Instead of doing what he wanted though, he continued to sort through things, looking for supplies now with an Arthur clinging to his back. If he couldn't speak in Spanish, then he just wouldn't speak at all.

Arthur pouted as Antonio promptly began to ignore him. Sighing, he kissed his neck and unwrapped himself from his back. Plucking what Antonio held from his hands, he replaced the object with his hands and pulled the Spaniard to his feet. "That's enough collecting for today I think...come on, the downstairs is cleared out let's go tell Gilbert and Eliza and we'll go to bed alright?" He smiled, keeping their hands linked together.

Antonio sighed and nodded, knowing very well he was being childish. After all, it wasn't Arthur's fault he was tired. He squeezed the Englishman's hand apologetically and smiled with a nod. "Lo siento... I think they're still upstairs... Let's go find them and say we're going to sleep... Maybe I am just a little grumpy..." He amended with a small laugh as he pulled Arthur's hand up to his lips and kissed it softly.

Arthur nodded and smiled softly as Antonio kissed his knuckles. Chuckling, he wrapped his arm around Antonio's waist and led him out the door towards the stairs. "Perhaps a bit...but what would you expect? We haven't really slept in three days! It's a wonder we haven't tried to kill each other yet."

Antonio smiled at the comment, though he knew he'd never want to kill Arthur, no matter how tired he was. "I don't want to kill you Arthur. No worries there, though... Can we just... stay down here and sleep? Gilbert and Eliza will come down when they are done." He asked, dull green eyes faintly hopeful that Arthur would agree.

"Mmm... We have to tell them the ground floor is clear… Why don't you stay down here love? Find a bed and wait for me?" Arthur suggested with a smile when he saw the exhaustion in Antonio's eyes and in the way the Spaniard swayed. Leaning forward, he kissed him gently and smiled. "It'll only take a moment."

Antonio sighed and nodded before shuffling off to find a place to sleep. It didn't take him long. He forced open the door to the first room they had checked and flopped on the bed with a low groan, wanting nothing more than to sleep, but deciding he'd much rather wait until Arthur was with him to know the man was safe and sound.

Elizabeta sighed and wander further down the hall, away from Gilbert. He needed a little space, time to be alone. As long as she stayed close enough he could reach her if she needed him, he didn't protest. Heck, she didn't think he really even noticed.

With a sigh she reached for a door, only to freeze when she realized it was already propped open. Was someone there? Cautiously she pushed open the door and was met with a baseball bat flying towards her head, leaving her to yelp in surprise and raise her frying pan to block the blow. "I'm alive! I'm not an..." But she never got to finish, for she was yanked with a startled cry, inside the room.

Dangerous, bright blue eyes glared at her furiously, and the bat had made its way back into a pair of slightly shuddering hands. It was a boy, young, maybe sixteen, and he looked murderously, furiously angry.

"Who are you?" *He snarled angrily, eyes flickering towards the closet door behind the woman as four sets of eyes peeked out for a second before disappearing into the darkness of the closet, door closing quickly and silently. His heart beat thunderously in his chest as he watched the woman with fearful hostility rolling off him in waves.

Gilbert jumped half a foot in the air as he heard his wife shout and a door slam. Turning around he turned just in time to see her disappear into one of the rooms. Cursing he grabbed his gun and rushed at the door slamming his fist into the wood. "Open the _damn_ door! _Now_! Elizabeta are you alright!? I will kick down this door, do you hear me!?" He roared, absolutely livid.

The children that were hiding in the closet jumped as Gilbert started shouting furiously and cowered further into each other's arms their terrified eyes locking onto Elizabeta from where she stood in shock. "Leon! Make him stop!" One of the children, a small girl who appeared to be about four, wailed as she rushed forward to wrap her arms around the older boy's waist. "He's being noisy! What if the bad people hear him?!"

"Hush Eve." Leon whispered to the girl clinging to him as he gently rested a hand on her head, never once taking his eyes from Elizabeta. He thought he had been tense before, but with the little girl now potentially in harm's way, adrenaline pounded through his veins relentlessly.

"Tell him to stop. Tell him to shut up! Who are you, who is he and why are you here? Are there more of you? I'll have you know, if you are planning on stealing our supplies, I will not hesitate to kill you... I don't look like much, but I promise you, if you hinder our chance of survival..." He trailed off, bluffing rather well. He wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to kill this woman... There'd never been a reason to kill someone in cold blood before. Only the zombies.

Elizabeta looked at the boy curiously, shocked by the authority in his voice. She half turned towards the door, still watching the boy out of curiosity in what he'd do. If it came down to it, she wouldn't be surprised if the boy tried to kill her. "Gil. Gilbert calm down. I'm fine... You just have to trust me dear..." She called softly, not wanting to startle the hostile boy beside her.

"I am Elizabeta, and the man at the door is Gilbert. We are with two friends. I don't mean you, any of you, harm. I promise. We didn't know you were camping here... If we have taken anything that belongs to you, we'll give it back... Please calm down." She soothed in a soft voice, eyes sincere. A sense of accomplishment made her heart flutter when he lowered his bat hesitantly, though his eyes still burned angrily.

"Elizabeta what the hell is going on in there?! Why do I hear voices? Would you just open the door...bitte? I really don't like not being able to see you at the moment." Gilbert begged, voice far too angry for comfort.

The children warily watched the door as Gilbert stopped his pounding but continued messing with the door handle in an attempt to get the door open. All except for Leon who was watching Elizabeta, and Eve who was looking up at Leon.

"Leon...they're grown ups! Maybe they can help us!" The small girl squeaked from his side, clinging onto him as she looked up at the woman fearlessly. "You have pretty eyes." She whispered, not seeming threatened by the woman in the slightest despite the wariness of the other four children in the room.

Elizabeta rolled her eyes irritably and looked back at the door, trusting the boy wouldn't jump at her to attack. "Gilbert! Gilbert dear, you aren't helping! Calm down! You'll scare them." She growled, before kneeling down very slowly so as not to startle Leon, until she was level with the little girl clinging to him. "You have prettier ones. Bright and blue. I won't hurt you little one, I promise. What's your name?" She asked softly with a bright, friendly smile, though the boy at her side lifted his bat again in warning.

"Eve, don't go over to her. Go back with the others... We don't know who these people are." Leon warned, tightening his grip on his bat. He sighed when Eve just raised an eyebrow at him, looking as skeptical as a four year old could.

He crept back from Elizabeta, painfully aware of how she was between him and the kids, and rested his hand on the doorknob, his bat in his hands and his eyes full of fury. This would either prove fatal for them all... Or it would save all of their lives.

Gilbert made a muffled noise of irritation, but didn't press further as he sat next to the door with a grumble. At least Elizabeta didn't sound like she was in trouble. "Fine! Who's in there?!" He demanded furiously, resting his head up against the door with a groan.

As soon as Leon had moved from her side, Eve turned towards Elizabeta with a smile. "I'm Eve! This is Leon! He found me after my parents got sick. He's only grumpy cause a lot of people have turned into monsters...have you seen them? They're bad and try to eat you if you get to close! I don't like them...they're scary. You aren't a person eater are you?!" The child demanded, promptly ignoring Leon's orders. She didn't understand what the big deal was! The lady said she wouldn't hurt them.

"Eve...come here." A girl, perhaps fourteen, ordered as she reached out and scooped the child up. Blue eyed like the other two, she looked over at Leon fearfully as his hand rested on the doorknob, though she trusted him with whatever he decided to do.

"Nein! I wanna talk to the lady!" Eve whined in protest, distressed that the older children wouldn't let her talk to the first adults that they had seen in a long time. The older girl didn't set her down though, instead she took her back to the other children, much to Eve's annoyance.

Leon waited until Eve was with the others before he pulled open the door, jumping back as soon as it was open and pulling back his bat, eyes bright with nervous hostility.

Gilbert yelped as he fell backwards into the room. Disorientated, he leapt up and swirled around, his eyes falling onto the children in irritation only to soften almost instantly. For a brief moment, Gilbert saw Ludwig staring back up at him when his eyes fell onto Leon's. The soft blue irises faded quickly though, as he realized it was not his Ludwig that he was looking at but instead a furious looking stranger holding a bat defensively in front of four smaller children. He looked ready to kill.

"Ah...well...hallo there." Gilbert smiled shakily, eyeing the bat warily. He didn't feel up to a fight, especially not with someone like this boy who saw him as a threat. "Put that down. We aren't going to hurt you." He insisted when the child squared off his shoulders at him. Honestly, the boy reminded him a lot of himself, protecting the little ones. Thoughts of Ludwig swirled around in his head, piercing his heart and chasing away his attempts at being friendly.

"Listen. I'm a lot bigger than you, and I have a lot more fire power... put the bat down so we can have a nice, friendly conversation. I'm too tired to argue. Put. It. Down." He barked, his authoritative voice booming through the room forcefully as he got a firm grip on his gun. It was the same voice he used whenever he wanted Ludwig to do something immediately, and he hoped it would work on the children. At first it appeared to.

Leon flinched back and lowered his bat for a moment, his instinct to listen to the older man overriding the one that said to keep his family safe, but one of the children whimpered, a little boy of maybe six or seven, and he grit his teeth. He lifted his head and bat back up, absolutely terrified, but determined and defiant. No one was telling him what to do if the kids behind him were scared.

"Jessie... Go through the connecting room... Go..." He hissed, not liking Gilbert's demands any more than he liked the gun in his hands.

"Hey... don't go running off now, we aren't going to hurt you!" Gilbert groaned as the children made a break through the door, leaving the eldest boy alone with the two adults. If the infected were to show up, all of them would be dead. Easily.

"Gott verdammt...why did you have them run off like that?" He demanded, crimson eyes flashing in irritation as he holstered his weapon with a sigh and moved forward with a fluid motion to disarm the boy. He knocked the bat from the boy's hands and swept his legs out from underneath him all in one movement, leaving the boy to land hard on his backside. "I just said put the damn bat down. Now calm down would you? I said I wasn't going to hurt you, and so far, I don't think I've broken my promise." He snapped, handing the bat back to the boy with a small exasperated sigh.

"If I trusted everyone that said they wouldn't hurt me, I'd be dead." Leon growled back, taking his bat back and looking away as the woman moved over to her husband with disapproving eyes.

Elizabeta looked at Gilbert, and then at Leon, a frown on her face. She didn't think Gilbert had to knock the poor boy down, seeing he was clearly terrified and just trying to keep his family safe, not unlike Gilbert himself! In her husband's defense though, she didn't think the boy needed to be nearly as stubborn and wary as he was being either.

"Can we all calm down? Gilbert... dear, think for a minute. What if it was you, young and scared, trying to protect your brother? You don't think you'd do the same thing?" She asked her husband with a raised eyebrow, before looking back at Leon, a motherly firmness in her hazel eyes. "And you. I understand sending them away like that got them away from us, but we won't hurt you. I swear on my life we won't hurt you. I can't say the same for any infected that could be lurking in the halls." Her voice was clipped, firm, but not unfriendly. It wasn't her goal to scold this boy.

Leon backed away from them both and stood back up, clutching his bat. What the woman said was completely true, or at least the last bit was. He could have easily sent all four of them to their deaths, trying to keep them safe. Before he understood what was happening, he broke down with a soft sob, shoulders shaking and biting his lip so hard it bled. It was so much harder to keep them safe than he ever would have thought. He didn't know how much longer he could do it on his own...

Gilbert opened his mouth to protest his wife's accusation, only to feel his heart shatter when she mentioned his brother. His eyes darkening almost instantly, he bit his lip and looked away tears of his own welling up in his eyes. If he was young, scared and alone with his brother, he would have beat the holy living hell out of anyone or anything who threatened him. Not unlike this boy, but when next he looked up, the boy had start to sob despondently.

Slowly, he moved forward until his hand came to rest on the boy's shoulder, understanding flooding through him. "Hey... chin up alright? Everything's going to be ok. I'm sorry I scared you, but honestly... I was just scared too." He whispered quietly, eyes reassuring as he gently removed the bat from the boy's hands and placed it on the ground beside them. There would be no more fighting if he could help it.

"You've been all alone through this, haven't you? Gott... es tut mir lied." His heart clenched in grief and pity for all of the children and his eyes shown with tears. He could only begin to imagine what this boy had gone through since the start of the whole thing.

Leon shivered and wiped at his tears, not wanting to cry in front of these strangers, but not really able to help himself. He couldn't do it anymore! Keep the others safe all alone. Startled, tearful blue eyes met crimson when Gilbert admitted he had been afraid too, and Leon just looked confused. "You were scared... Why? I'm not exactly threatening..." He whispered, sniffling softly despite how much he didn't want to. "Why are you tearing and apologizing? It isn't like it's your fault..."

"I'm apologizing because I scared you when I am the adult here, and should have done a better job calming you down instead of knocking you around like some sort of bully. I was scared because I didn't know what was going on." Gilbert explained calmly wiping at his own eyes. That the boy underestimated himself brought a faint smile to his lips. "That and... you may not be very old, but you're big enough to do some damage if provoked. I've seen what brother's will do to protect their little siblings, and I know if you needed to, you would have killed my wife and me without a second thought. Trust me I know...I'm a...I...I'm a big brother too." The praise was small, but it seemed to get the boy to relax.

"Mmm... Only one of them is really my sibling, but I think of them all as my siblings... and you are right... If I would have needed to kill you, I would have..." A sigh escaped Leon's lips then as a frown set on his face. "I am... afraid for them. I can't help them much, stuck to this place like we are... But we'll make it somehow... I have to believe that." He said, not really understanding why he trusted Gilbert all of the sudden.

Something else caught his attention though. "You are a brother too? Do you keep yours safe? Well... I guess you wouldn't have to though... Your sibling is probably old enough and strong enough to take care of themself..."

"I... he... Excuse me." Gilbert couldn't help it as Leon spoke. He felt a great, hiccupping sob rolling up into his chest. Before it could break free, he stood and without a second glance at Elizabeta or the confused looking boy, moved into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Sitting with a silent sob, he buried his face into his hands and allowed the tears he had been holding back for days to roll down his cheeks. He made sure that the others wouldn't hear him, he had worked far too hard to be the emotionless, strong leader they needed him to be, for him to ruin his image now. He couldn't help but see himself in the boy's place, so desperate to keep the younger children alive even if it killed them all, and in that same breath, saw his own failures and remembered his brother's lifeless eyes as they stared up at him that final time. His failure... his moment of weakness.

Leon frowned and looked at the ground, understanding immediately. Gilbert had lost his brother. With careful movements, he walked towards the bathroom door, avoiding Elizabeta's eyes and ignoring her warning. He slipped inside to find a sobbing Gilbert.

Arthur moved upstairs with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck as he went. It was difficult to keep from stumbling as he moved, exhausted almost as bad as the Spaniard that waited for him downstairs, but he felt it was in the very least courteous to let Gilbert know downstairs was all clear.

As he hit the second floor, he spotted an open door down the hall and froze when he heard voices coming from inside. At first he thought it was just Gilbert and Elizabeta, but then another voice made itself known. He was about to go investigate when four children came pouring out of one of the doors and slammed into him with yelps of terror.

"Bloody hell?!" He yelped as he fell over with a grunt, completely startled. Where had they come from? Sitting up with a grunt, he untangled himself from the children with a frown and lifted up a small boy when he started pounding at his chest with little fists, furiously howling for him to release them though Arthur had made no move to restrain them. The little boy looked all but blinded with fear with his overly bright blue eyes and shuddering form. All of the children save the smallest girl were in similar states.

"Now what are you doing that for? I haven't tried to hurt you! Calm down lad. Where did you come from?" He demanded gently, pinning the child's arms at his side with one arm and kneeling down to help another young girl to her feet, bewildered that an adult had yet to follow after them.

"Now now... Don't get your knickers in a twist. I'm not going to hurt you. Where are your parents?" He questioned, a concerned look on his face. The poor things looked terrible! Tearful and shaking. What had spooked them so badly? Surely if Gilbert and Elizabeta were talking down the hall that meant there weren't any of the infected.

"My bruder is just over there and he'll kick your butt if you do anything to us!" The little boy threatened in a voice just as heavily accented as Gilbert's German tainted English., struggling in Arthur's hold halfheartedly as he looked up to meet his eyes. He don't look like he truly meant the threat, and Arthur merely smiled at him and loosened his arm should the little lad decide he wanted to escape. To his surprise, the little one made no move to leave the safety of his hold.

The youngest, far different from all the others, marched right up to Arthur, the most determined look on her pretty little face, blue eyes flashing with curiosity and friendliness, though it didn't override the hint of surprising skepticism, the look bizarre to find in such a young pair of eyes. "We don't have parents, unless you count Leon, but his is just bossy and not old enough to be a Vati." She announced boldly, grief flooding her eyes, threatening to make her cry. "The people-eaters ate them! Meanies... Who are you? Why do you talk so weird?" She giggled despite herself, pressing little hands to her mouth. "It's so silly!"

The oldest girl looked startled, and was afraid the little one had offended the new stranger. She quickly moved forward to stand behind the brave little girl with stern, slightly horrified eyes. "Eve! Apologize! It isn't his fault he talks different than us!" She scolded, glancing with a wary apology in her eyes, bright, brilliant blue like the rest of them.

Arthur looked down at the children in surprise, first at the slowly relaxing boy and then at the noisy little girl, Eve. It took a moment, but after a tense time where the oldest clearly thought he would lash out, Arthur began to laugh noisily. The sound was full and bright, truly amused with all of the children, though his heart clenched for them all painfully to hear their parents hadn't made it. "Well hello to you as well." He laughed, setting Dexton on his own two feet.

These children had been through so much, losing their parents, there was no need for him to distress them any further by taking offense to their actions. Grinning at the little girl standing so bravely before him instead, he smiled broadly, impressed. "I'm Arthur, Arthur Kirkland, and I don't speak differently. You speak differently." He winked, ruffling her hair softly. "I'm from England, and we all talk like this there. So to me, you speak quite strangely indeed."

The little boy back away from Arthur, looking curious instead of fearful, though it didn't stop him from walking into the arms of the middle girl, looking wary as she hugged him close and watched Arthur just as warily. Eve on the other hand, frowned, debating on if she wanted to be upset by the fact Arthur called her strange or not.

"I am Eve... And I am four and Mutti says I'm Prussian that sounds like Russian, but Vati says I'm German and speak German, not Prussian or Russian, and we all sound like this here so _you _are the one that sounds strange." She protested, deciding she wasn't offended after all.

Arthur laughed outright at the knowledge and nodded; appeasing the little one would be fair easier than arguing with how determined to be right she looked. "Alright then. Perhaps I speak a little strangely as it seems I'm terribly outnumbered here." He relented with a soft smile though after a moment his eyes darkened in concern.

"Tell me... what on earth are you all doing here?" He asked, looking up at the girl behind Eve in confusion when he identified her as the oldest. "You're saying you've been here all by yourself? You poor things... that's not fair at all." He mused, shaking his head.

The oldest girl sighed and glanced down at the three younger children with tired eyes, trusting the stranger far easier than she knew Leon would. "All of our families were killed... Leon and Dexton found Eve in the room next door to theirs, Anna was nearly bitten by one of them when they rescued her, and I ran from town to here, looking for my aunt and finding these four instead... Leon thinks it's safest to just stay here... But we'll run out of food soon and he knows that..." She explained, gesturing to each child as she spoke about them. "I'm Jessie, by the way. It is very good to meet you, Arthur."

"It is nice to meet you too, Jessie. All of you. You don't have to worry about food anymore lass. We have plenty, and there's no way that we'd leave you poor things alone." Arthur assured her, reaching out to pat her shoulder.

"Did you forget you were outnumbered by us?" Eve questioned, sounding rather annoyed that the stranger had forgotten all about their teasing game. She had talked to him first!

"Well...that won't do at all. Perhaps I should call for reinforcements!" Arthur teased tweaking Eve's nose in a playful manner. He hardly had meant to ignore her after all.

The action though, so reminiscent of what Anna's parents had done to her, sent her into a sudden, immediate burst of tears. "I want my mutti!" She sobbed, sitting on the floor next to Jessie with a wail as Arthur jumped a foot in the air.

"Blimey... what's wrong lass? I... Oh no... Don't you cry too lad..." Arthur yelped frantically as Dexton's lips began to quiver, the brave, curious front he had put on to watch Arthur, crumbling as the realization that there was an adult to care for them now filled his mind.

Jessie looked just as startled and hugged Anna tightly, rubbing the small girl's back. She was never good at getting the others to stop crying! That was all Leon! "Anna... It's ok... Shhh It's ok!" She desperately attempted to sooth, trying to stay calm, but she looked almost ready to burst into tears of her own. Only Eve stayed calm and tear free, far too excited about her new friend.

Arthur stared at the children for a brief moment, momentarily unsure of what he should do, but after a few seconds of despondent weeping from the two children, he scooped them into his arms and held them close. "Now now... I know you've been very brave haven't you? It's alright to cry." He insisted, rubbing their backs gently and waving for Jessie to join the hug. "Don't be afraid to cry... sometimes you just need to. It's alright. You're safe now. I won't let anything happen to you. Any of you." He mumbled gently, smiling encouragingly at Jessie as she joined the hug with her family, tears quietly streaming down her face.

Wordlessly Leon handed the much older man a towel, still folded neatly by the sink, and sat on the tile against the door, biting his already bleeding lip again. "Es tut mir leid... I didn't know, but I understand a little bit..."

Gilbert looked up with a start when the boy spoke, not having heard him come in and coughed noisily wiping at his eyes in an attempt to stem the steady flow of tears. Smiling shakily at the towel that the boy extended to him, he nodded his thanks, surprised by the thoughtfulness.

"You know... This one time I was with Dexton, he's mein kleiner bruder and I love him more than anything..." Leon began after a moment of silence. "I was with him, and he slipped and fell in the creek by our house. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal, but he didn't know how to swim very well and the creek was overflowing with rain water and snowmelt... I thought he was going to drown... I was so scared because I thought I had lost him forever... I didn't of course. When we both went inside, I locked myself in my room and cried and cried and cried, just imagining what I would do without him, and my Oma came in... She sat beside me and took my hands in hers and told me that even if I did lose him... Or anyone that I love, they wouldn't ever really be gone. They'd watch over me..." He looked down at his hands with a faint smile, feeling Gilbert watching him as he talked. "Sometimes I can feel my Oma whenever I get really afraid, and I know that she watches over me... I bet you your bruder watches over you too."

Again Gilbert nodded slowly, and wiped at his face furiously. "I know...but it doesn't make it any easier, you know?" He whispered softly, shaking his head with a sigh and a humorless laugh. "I'm sorry... should have learned how to control myself by now. We've all got enough problems on... on our plate that we don't need to be worrying about my problems." He pointed out gruffly, reaching out to squeeze the boy's shoulder in appreciation.

"Thank you though... you're a good kid...Leon, right? That's what they called you." He asked, standing shakily and rubbing at his forehead with his fingertips.

"Yea… You know... Sometimes it is better to cry than to be strong..." Leon pointed out, opening the bathroom door and allowing Elizabeta to get to her husband.

Before she had the chance to speak, Gilbert was speaking. "Gott...I'm sorry Eliza. He whispered, pulling the woman into his arms and kissing her temple. "I've been an ass to you...I...I shouldn't have taken this all out on you."

"I should find my family... They're all probably hiding somewhere..." Leon said softly, before slipping away out the door and heading down the hall. He figured he could give the two a minute to be alone.

"It's alright Gil... I know it's been rough. I know... I still love you. I just wish I could help you more..." Elizabeta whispered softly, hugging him tightly.

Gilbert sighed and nodded resting his cheek on the top of her head a moment. "Ich liebe dich auch Elizabeta." He whispered, kissing her temple and moving to follow the boy, just in case he needed help.

"We'll have to figure out a way to explain this all to...well never mind." He muttered in confusion when he spotted Arthur swarmed up to his neck with sobbing children as well as a distress looking Leon.

"Dexton! Bruder, what's wrong? Anna? Jessie? What's the matter?" Leon asked, sounding worried and a little frantic as all of his siblings, save a stubborn looking Eve who clung to a strange man's pant leg, sobbed. What had he missed?

"Ah, so there's the other one of you." Arthur sighed as the elder boy approached. Shifting so he could look at Leon, he sighed and stood, smiling despite himself when the children refused to release themselves from around his neck. "This little lass here was just telling me about you." He explained, gesturing to the calm looking Eve and glancing behind Leon as Gilbert and Elizabeta came closer.

"I seem to have found some leeches." He called, smiling over at Elizabeta and Gilbert as he rocked the children slowly, hushing them softly.

His attention was quickly brought back to Leon as the boy bristled noticeably, agitated by the crying and not knowing what caused it. Arthur smiled reassuringly as he met Leon's eyes, not nearly coming off as the threat Gilbert had. "Don't worry lad. I haven't hurt them. They're just a tad overwhelmed I think... poor little tykes are exhausted."

Dexton whimpered softly as he clung to the Englishman, barely looking up when his brother approached. Leon did his best to care for them all, but he was still just a kid himself, and the feeling of being told that it was going to be ok from an adult was so much different, that he couldn't help but attach himself to the comfort. He had no idea that Leon was so hurt by it.

"Oh my... Poor dears!" Elizabeta said, covering her mouth with her hand at the heart breaking sight before her. How was it Arthur had managed to get them to warm up to him so fast?

Leon frowned, feeling a strange pain in his heart when not one of them looked over at him or even bothered to answer him when he asked what was wrong. He bit the inside of his lip again, and fought hard not to tell them all to get off of the man. His heart wrenched with sadness and he just back away, giving them space. "I see." He mumbled to himself. Somehow, it all just made him realize just how big of a failure he was at keeping them all safe, and he wanted nothing more than to be able to disappear for a minute, but he was stronger and more stubborn than that, so he just stood there awkwardly, watching them all cry helplessly. Not even his own brother had wanted to let go of a stranger in favor of him.

Gilbert watched the scene for a moment before his eyes sought out a dejected looking Leon. He knew exactly what the boy was feeling in that moment, seeing the look of pain in the older boy's face, and sighed, walking over to him and reaching out to clasp his shoulder gently. "Hey...you've done a great job keeping them all safe. I mean look at them. They're clean, fed, look like they've been sleeping well. You've done gut! Better than I've done honestly." He insisted, his crimson eyes sparkling with the praise. The children were just tired and scared, and in the presence of an adult, they felt conflicted and in need of comfort, but he knew that Leon needed to know that they didn't mean it in a way that said anything about the way he was caring for them.

"You know... when Lud was younger, he would always run up to Vater the moment he came home from business trips and would pretty much ignore me for the rest of the night. It wasn't because he didn't care. It was because he thought of me as a bruder just then, not a parent... and wanted the attention from mein vater that I couldn't give him." Gilbert said, smiling as Leon glanced over at him, looking like he felt a little better.

Arthur sighed as the children's wails slowly dropped off as they began to tire, nodding at Elizabeta's exclamation after minute, completely unaware of Gilbert and Leon's conversation. "Poor dears is right... they're exhausted." He sighed, handing Anna off to Elizabeta when the woman extended her arms so he could lift up Eve.

"Where do they sleep lad? We don't need to worry about anything else tonight but getting these little ones to sleep and getting some rest ourselves." He called, glancing at Leon and speaking to him calmly as if speaking to an adult. It was clear he was the one the kids had put in charge.

Leon shrugged of Gilbert's concern for him in favor of looking up at Arthur when he spoke, not really wanting the silver haired man to realize just how much his words made him feel better. With a sigh he turned, and fully looked at Arthur, not finding it in his heart to dislike the man. It wasn't his fault the children had attached to him after all. "They all sleep in the room back there... Where we were earlier... I'll show you..." He said, leading the way back to the room from before and opening the door by jiggling the handle in a somewhat strange way.

"The lock comes undone if you pull the handle right..." He mumbled an explanation when he felt Gilbert's eyes on him, unable to decipher it was because the man was concerned for him or interested in how he opened the door.

"Dexton sleeps on the bed closest to the door with me... The three girls sleep on the bed by the window..." He mumbled, moving out of the way for everyone to pile into the room.

Elizabeta held Anna to her and hummed softly as she walked over to the bed in the room she had found them all in, the little girl sniffling softly against her shoulder. "It'll be alright dear. You are safe with us. I promise." She soothed as she set her down in the bed.

"You've got quite the set up here lad... I have to admit, I'm impressed." Arthur smiled as he handed Dexton to Leon and shifted the already dozing Eve a bit so he could place her on the bed next to Anna. "There's a good lass..." He smiled.

"It's not much at all, honestly... We'd have to leave eventually from lack of food if nothing else." Leon quietly disagreed, holding his dozing brother close, feeling his world righten once more.

He gently set Dexton down on the bed and pulled the covers over him, smiling as the smaller blond boy curled up in a ball around a pillow with a yawn. "Silly... Guten nacht Dexton." He whispered, gently kissing the boy's temple before moving to the other bed and doing the same to the two younger girls, then he turned to Jessie before she got into the bed and hugged her good night as well.

"So...where do you want us to sleep? I can go get Antonio if you want us to sleep up here closer to the children." Arthur pointed out thoughtfully as he turned to Gilbert, wondering if the Spaniard was beginning to worry with the amount of time he had been upstairs, or if he had simply fallen to sleep the moment he hit the bed.

"You're going to sleep downstairs? Why? It makes more sense to sleep on the second floor... They don't climb stairs very well and they won't come in here unless they hear a strange noise..." Leon protested, though he fell silent sheepishly when he realized it was far from his decision to make.

Elizabeta shrugged and looked at Gilbert, Leon and Arthur's words both making sense. "I'd say we stay up here... They might need us and we don't want to be too far away." She agreed, smiling as Gilbert nodded without much hesitation.

"Ja... Arthur go and get Antonio. We'll stay up here in the rooms next to the kids. Elizabeta and me in the adjoining room and you guys right across from them." Gilbert ordered after a moment of contemplation. Seeing Leon duck his head out of the corner of his eye he laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. Honestly, he didn't mind the input.

Arthur nodded and with a sigh moved out of the room heading downstairs, curious to see if the man was asleep.

Antonio had in fact dozed off, waiting for Arthur, but when the man opened the door, he woke back up and smiled sleepily. He had tried his hardest to stay up! "Hola amor. You took forever! Come... Sleep. Sleep is good Arthur." He mumbled, words slurring to an almost incoherent level.

Arthur chuckled as he moved over to Antonio, and without hesitation, scooped him into his arms. Stumbling a bit under his weight, he chuckled again and kissed his temple. "We're sleeping upstairs tonight love... We made some new friends. A group of children who have been taking care of themselves this whole time. Can you imagine? We're going to stay up there with them." He explained when Antonio halfheartedly protested, fighting to keep his eyes open as they made their way back up the stairs.

Waving at Gilbert as he passed, Arthur opened the door to the room they had been assigned and placed Antonio onto the bed with a sigh of relief, eyes amused. "You're heavier than you look."

"Maybe next time you should just let me walk. I'd have made it... eventually." Antonio said with a soft laugh, already snuggling under the blankets with his eyes closed. "You said children were up here? All alone? Dios mio! How have they... managed all this time? "He slurred, unconscious before Arthur could even curl in his arms and press against his chest.

In the hall, Gilbert sighed as he glanced over at Leon, amusement faint in his eyes left over from the comical display of Arthur and Antonio from when they had passed. "Do you need anything? We have food, water... anything you might need in the trucks. Don't be afraid to ask if you need anything at all." He insisted, his eyes calm as he locked gazes with the eldest boy. "I hope that you won't mind coming with us when we leave... I don't want to leave you kids behind... Hell, I don't think I would leave you behind even if you wanted me to. You'll be safer with us in the long run."

Leon shook his head with a sigh, grateful for everything Gilbert offered. "Nein. We don't need anything tonight... Sleep, but that's about it. I wasn't planning on leaving so soon, but I knew we were going to have to... Going with you all might seem the best plan... Clearly there are some things they need that they can't get from me... And let's face it. They'll be safer with five people watching out for them instead of just one." He reasoned out loud with himself, a lopsided, friendly smile forming on his face as he agreed to Gilbert's command.

"How do you guys keep watch anyway? Usually Jessie and I switch off every other night..." He asked, curious to know if he could go to sleep as well, or if he was needed to look out for anything potentially dangerous.

Gilbert sighed and ruffled the boy's hair. No wonder Leon and Jessie looked so worn. "We'll keep watch tonight." He stated firmly, leaving no room for question even if Leon had wanted to protest. "Elizabeta...you've gotten the most sleep, why don't you keep watch till... 4? Then I'll take over." He offered with a sigh as he turned to look at his wife, rubbing the back of his neck.

Leon looked hesitant, but at Elizabeta's encouraging smile and nod he shrugged and agreed reluctantly. "If you guys are sure... Danke... But if you do need someone else to watch... It is my turn tonight so..." He trailed off as he turned to go into the other room. "Guten nacht..."

Elizabeta smiled brightly and waved, eyes luminous with affection for the boy already. "Good night Leon, dear!" She called as he disappeared.

"Now. Gilbert. I'll just watch tonight. I've gotten the most sleep out of all of us. I can stay awake for one night. You go sleep. If I need help I'll wake you up." She promised, pulling the exhausted man into her arms and kissing him softly.

Gilbert sighed as he wrapped his wife in his arms, accepting the kiss and giving her one of his own in return. "Ok...if you're sure." Though he was a little hesitant as he moved into the room and laid down with a groan. "If you need anything...just let me know." He ordered, calling out to her through the open door.

He didn't even bother to even kick off his shoes as he lay against the pillows. "Gott I need this sleep..." He muttered exhaustedly, falling asleep almost as fast as the kids had.

"I'll be fine, you silly, stubborn man." Eliza promised softly, positioning herself in the hallway so that she could see all three doorways and the stairs. Nothing was going to get past her.

Leon climbed onto the bed where his brother lay as soon as he was sure Elizabeta was settled, finding the little boy already fast asleep. He snuggled under the covers and closed his eyes, only to open them again when Dexton rolled to him in his sleep and snuggled right up against his chest, leaving Leon to smile and kiss the boy's head. Gently, he wrapped a protective arm around his little brother and closed his eyes again, sleep coming more easily than it had since the entire ordeal started.

* * *

**Alright guys, there you go! Review please~ Here's the little Spanish blurb for everyone:**

**Inglés... Odio el inglés. Es una idioma horrible: English... I hate English. It's a horrible language.**

**Sí... Lo odio. Lo odio con todo mi corazón...: Yes... I hate it. I hate it with all my heart.**

**¿Gruñón? Yo no soy gruñón... ¿Quieren ver de gruñón? Vaya a nuestro amigo de albino. Yo no soy gruñón..: Grumpy? I'm not grumpy... You want to see grumpy? Go seeour new albino friend. I'm not grumpy...**

**Tada!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Sorry this is late... You can kill us we promise. We'll try not to ever be late again! **

**Warning: Nothing too scary. Just conversation :)**

* * *

Gilbert didn't wake until long after noon the next morning. Disorientated and confused he nearly fell off the bed in confusion when he didn't recognize where he was. Gradually, the memories from the night before welled up in his mind and Gilbert sighed as he slowly staggered out of his bed.

Pulling on shoes with sleep filled eyes; he followed the sound of voices down the stairs and into the kitchen where Elizabeta was already preparing breakfast for seven very hungry looking people.

"Guten morgen all." He muttered rubbing at his eyes sleepily and walking over to kiss Elizabeta on the cheek. "How long was I out?" He asked as he glanced down at his watch.

"At least a good 15 hours." Arthur pointed out as he dished out some oatmeal for a wide eyed Eve when she held her bowl up to him eagerly. "We thought maybe you died, but then of course you snore louder than Antonio so you couldn't have." He laughed nudging Antonio gently, his eyes sparkling good naturedly.

Antonio laughed warmly, much happier after a good night's sleep as well. Grinning, he caught one of Arthur's hands in his and kissed it gently. "I snore, sì, but ay! Gilbert it's a wonder you didn't wake yourself up amigo!" He laughed earning an eye roll from the noisy German.

"Eve, You've already eaten an entire bowl! Make sure there is enough for everyone else, liebling." Leon chided, perched on a ledge inside the window as he looked down at the deserted street. His blonde hair was brushed neatly; the complete opposite of Dexton's whose blonde locks stuck up every which way as he ate a spoonful of oatmeal.

Eve looked over at Leon and pouted "But I'm still hungry!" She whined grumpily continuing to eat despite Leon's protest.

Elizabeta giggled at the friendly words and promptly handed Gilbert a bowl of warm oatmeal. "Here you are love! You look much better after sleeping." She smiled as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "And a good thing I was tired…otherwise your snoring would have kept me up."

Gilbert chuckled and rolled his eyes knowing he only snored when he hadn't slept in a long time. "Ja ja...laugh it up. We all can't be dainty sleepers like Arthur." He teased back with a laugh when Arthur glared at him.

"Oh sod off git." Arthur snapped sticking out his tongue as he moved over to Dexton and began combing out his tangled locks with a brush he had found and washed earlier that morning as he had done already to Anna and Eve's unruly hair.

"Hey! Hey! That's my hair! Ow!" Dexton mumbled through a mouthful of oatmeal, trying to duck out of range from the brush in Arthur's hands only earning a chuckle from the amused Arthur.

"Gott I feel like I haven't eaten in weeks." Gilbert mumbled scooping up the food eagerly, moving over to the window next to Leon and sitting before taking a bite from the oatmeal with a half starving sigh of relief.

"Hey, sit still Dexton. The more you fuss, the longer it takes!" Leon said, shaking his head in good humored exasperation before looking up at Gilbert with a slight smile. "You're as bad as them! Look... You have Dexton style hair, oatmeal all over your face and are wolfing down your food... You'd think you were a child too!" He teased shyly, looking back out the window after a moment with a soft laugh.

"Oh I'm a child then am I?" Gilbert grinned, taking a spoonful of the oatmeal he flung it playfully at the boy laughing when it splattered across his cheek "Oops...sorry...slipped right out of my spoon there." He teased when the boy yelped in surprise.

"Hey! Ugh... ew that's just... That's just gross! Really mature of you." Leon laughed, wiping the oatmeal from his cheek. His blue eyes were alive with amusement and happiness, so unlike his fearful, hostile ones the day before.

"You're the one who said I was immature! I didn't want to prove you wrong." Gilbert winked extending a towel he found on the counter as a peace treaty to the young man "You should be thanking me...oatmeal is a great exfoliator." He laughed ruffling the child's hair.

"Oh well, I am so glad you are looking out for the wellbeing of my skin Gilbert. I wouldn't want to suffer a break out..." Leon mumbled with a grin, accepting the towel and wiping the rest of the warm mush off his face. Finished, he wadded it up into a ball and threw it at Gilbert with a mischievous look in his eyes before hopping off the windowsill and heading into the kitchen with his dirty bowl. Cackling, Gilbert grinned.

"It makes a good shampoo too, or so I've heard. Tell me how that works for you!" He called after him evilly.

Arthur chuckled in amusement watching the two as he finished combing out the knots in Dexton's tangled hair and set the brush aside "I'll cut it later. I believe you all need at least a trim." He smiled, laughing when the children all gave him horrified looks "Would you rather Gilbert did it? I'm sure you'd end up bald." he pointed out looking amused when they all yelped and shook their heads in terror.

"No sir!"

"You don't want Gilbert to do it? I think you'd all look good bald!" Antonio said with a lazy grin fixed on his face, emerald eyes sparkling mischievously.

"I don't wanna be bald!" Eve protested when she finally understood what they were talking about "My unkle was bald and it made him look like he had a face on the back of his head! I don't wanna face on the back of my head!" She squealed, terrified. Arthur chuckled and gently patted the girl's shoulder.

"You won't have to be bald." He relented shaking his head and winking at Antonio with a knowing grin. Elizabeta laughed softly at the girl's and gently ran her fingers through Eve's hair.

"You don't have to be bald little one, they're just teasing." Elizabeta smiled softly. Antonio grinned at Arthur, emerald eyes shining brilliantly.

"I don't know... bald... I still think you'd look good. Ves muy hermosa mija. You sure you don't want to try it?" He teased as he looked down at the girl wickedly.

"If you like the idea so much why don't we shave your head love?" Arthur teased taking Eve's bowl from in front of her and wiping at her face with a cloth. "I'm sure you would make quite the pair wouldn't you?"

Eve shook her head furiously "Only old people can be bald! Old people like my papa! HE was bald! I don't wanna be bald!" Arthur chuckled and nodded winking back at Antonio as he took his bowl away from him. This was the most energy he'd had in a long time and he enjoyed it immensely. It was almost as if life was slowly reverting back to normal.

"I like my hair, thank you. I'd much rather keep it on my head." Antonio stated with a wicked grin. He really didn't find the idea of going bald appealing in any way shape or form.

"You're right...I love your hair. It's so soft." Arthur grinned, kissing Antonio's neck as he came to stand behind him with a sigh.

"So what's the plan then? Are we staying here a few more days or what?" Leon asked as he came back into the room and leaned against the wall with a sigh. He didn't want to kill everyone's happy moods, but as of yet, a plan hadn't been discussed.

Gilbert thought for a minute as he looked up at Leon. "Well...we can't stay here for long. It's too open, and there's no way we could defend even a small part of it. Not to mention the blatant lack of supplies or places to look for them in the area." He pointed out winking at Eve when she pulled a face at the blatant display of affection between Arthur and Antonio.

"Yes, but I also don't see why we can't just stay here a day or two...gather supplies, get some sleep. Rest up a bit! We've been driving for a good three days straight and we can see around this place for miles. Nothing's going to sneak up on us if we don't let it." Arthur pointed out his cheek resting against Antonio's neck, his arms snaking around his lover's waist. "What do you think Liza...Antonio?"

Antonio smiled brightly and rested his arms over Arthur's as they snaked around his waist. A small, almost imperceptible shiver ran down his spine as cool lips found his neck and he laughed softly. Blinking, he looked over at Eve with a raised eye brow and a mischievous smile, before wiggling out of Arthur's hold and dipping him in a rather flashy, over the top kiss.

"Eeeeeew...that's gross!" Eve whined hiding behind Elizabeta and sticking out her tongue "Why would you wanna kiss? Kissing is gross!" She protested as she hid her face in Elizabeta's shirt.

"Anthony you... " Arthur yelped as Antonio dipped him and pressed his lips up against his fiercely. Arthur felt a small grin forming on his lips before he could manage to scold the man when they straightened once again. A blush curling across his cheeks he chuckled and lifted his hand up to touch his lips where the kiss had been. "You git." He muttered blushing furiously and nudging Antonio with a small chuckle. "Control yourself would you? There are children present." he reminded him gently when Elizabeta scolded them silently. Grinning, Antonio looked over at Eve with a wink.

"Something the matter mija?" He teased, sighing at the disapproving cough Elizabeta made he returned his attention to the conversation. "Mmmm, I think we can get away with staying here one more day, but tomorrow morning we should leave. This place looks relatively safe, but we all know how bad it is to get too comfortable, si? *

Elizabeta frowned and glanced at Gilbert, having agreed with him. She didn't want to stay there any long: There were too many places the infected could hide. "You know... I think we need to just get to a military base, something... I don't think staying here is the best idea..." Gilbert sighed and nodded as he glanced over at the other couple.

"We don't want to get too comfortable, gathering supplies for a day or so while we recover is one thing, but staying here for any length of time is another. We still haven't even checked the top floors, and there are six of them, who knows what's lingering up there." Arthur sighed in a reluctant agreement to the German's point as he pressed his face into Antonio's neck.

"Ok ok, we should probably think about where we're going before we do anything. Driving around in circles isn't my idea of a safe route either. We probably should at least have a destination in mind before we just take off." Arthur pointed out after a minute, glancing up at Gilbert with a sigh. "Our main problem is that we have no plan. Where are we going?" Elizabeta nodded as she looked over at her husband, her eyes flashing with concern.

"I agree. Though I don't think we should stay here even for one more night though, Arthur is making some sense…Where do we head to?" She pointed out, her hands moving to pull her hair back in a tie before she ran her fingers through the confused looking Eve's hair. "So far we've just been driving around and stopping when we're about to collapse…it's not safe, especially now that we have the children." Gilbert thought for a minute as he gestured for Antonio to move the confused looking children out of the room.

"Why don't you guys go play in the lobby with Antonio huh?" He suggested with a smile, not exactly wanting to talk very seriously with a bunch of children staring at them. Waiting for Antonio to disentangle himself from Arthur and move out into the adjoining room with all but Leon, who seemed determined to stay, he sighed before turning to his wife. "I'm not going to lie, for the past week or so I've just been winging it…I don't know where's safe or if there's anywhere safe left to go." He admitted, earning a somber nod from the remaining adults in the room. "Where? You said a military base...I kinda like that idea. Are there any nearby?" Gilbert asked straining to remember any military bases that may have been set up in the area.

"Yes...I believe there is one. It'll probably take a solid day to reach it, but North of here there is a base. I remember driving by it on my way to visit my family back in England once. It's an American base, relatively small, but...it might be our best shot." Arthur pointed out standing by the door to the hall as he peeked out and watched Antonio chase the squealing children around the lobby with a fond smile on his face. "We need a map...would you like me to try and find one?" He asked as he looked back over at Gilbert with a raised eyebrow.

"I have a map... I took a class on modern European history, and one on modern American history. One of our requirements was to have an atlas. It's big though, it might not be too helpful." Leon piped up, having stayed silent and listening as the adults talked.

"An atlas? Hmmm... Does it have roads? Because big or not that would be useful." Gilbert pointed out looking down at the young man earning a nod in response. "Why don't you and I go find it? He suggested gesturing towards the door and chuckling when the boy sprinted out of the room to look for what he was bid to find.

"I'll go get it! It's just under the bed upstairs, I'll be right back." Leon said to Gilbert before turning and jogging towards the stairs, disappearing up them swiftly.

"An American base? Well... It's better than nothing, though they will probably be cracking down on foreigners right now, anyone who isn't American might not get in." Elizabeta said doubtfully, though really: Where else could they go?

"Elizabeta...do you have any idea where we should go? If you have a better idea than the military base I would love to hear it. At this point...I don't think they'll care if we're foreign or not, and if all else fails there is a British military base, but it's a bit further away, and I'm sure that they'd let us all in either." Arthur sighed rubbing his throbbing shoulder gently as he struggled to think of what they could possibly do. It was times like these when the wound on his shoulder started to act up, and though he tried not to complain about it, the dull ache did start to affect his train of thought.

"I think the military base will be just fine, so long as they accept us." Elizabeta said with a sigh. That would be awful if they got all the way there only to be forced away by other living humans.

"NOoooOOo! Cooties!" Eve's voice wailed as the group of children and Antonio reappeared in the kitchen, Antonio chuckling as he held Eve in his arms. Arthur chuckled in amusement at the sight, leaning against Antonio once the child had been set down. Turning to Elizabeta he smiled sadly.

"I'm sure they'll accept us...they have to." Arthur whispered rubbing his neck as he closed his eyes a moment to relax.

"I hope you're right, dear." Elizabeta said, sounding tired. It was funny, though she had stayed up all night; she hadn't felt exhausted until this conversation, as though the words had literally leeched energy from her.

"Elizabeta...you don't look well, pet. Do you need to lie down?" Arthur asked when he spotted the exhaustion in her eyes allowing Antonio to wrap his arms around him with a sigh.

Elizabeta smiled slightly and shook her head. "No no, I'm fine. You don't worry about me dear." She assured him with a warm smile.

Allowing the others to talk amongst themselves Gilbert sighed as he stood.

"I think I'm going to look for Leon...just to make sure he's ok." Gilbert muttered, glancing up the stairs after the boy disappeared. No one heard his comment, but he didn't feel like repeating himself so instead he simply slipped out of the room heading up the stairs

Arthur sighed and nodded making a mental note to keep an eye on the exhausted looking woman. "Now where did your husband wander off to?" He muttered looking around in confusion, for a relatively large man, he moved fairly quickly.

Elizabeta looked around, startled and concerned when she didn't see any sign of her husband. "Where did he go? I didn't see him leave." She pointed out, irritated that after all these years, her husband still managed to escape her without so much as an ounce of effort. Arthur frowned and looked around peeking out in the hallway

"He probably went after Leon...he'll shout if he needs us." He pointed out when he found the hall was clear. "He's a big lad...he can take care of himself." He promised as he reached out to pat the woman on the shoulder.

Elizabeta nodded, though her eyes still held a frantic edge. "He'll be fine... I'm sure you're right. He just went to look for Leon."

Not really listening to the conversation, Antonio sighed as he glanced at the girl still clinging onto his shirt. Kneeling down, he chuckled, a mischievous smile on his face.

"Now we get Arturo. What do you think?" He winked playfully as he ruffled her hair with a chuckle.

Eve giggled evilly and nodded her hands flying up to stifle the laughs rolling out of her mouth. "Ja! Now we get Iggy!"

Antonio chuckled softly and raised an eyebrow, glancing at his Arthur. "How should we do it?" he asked with a wink.

Eve giggled and nodded eagerly rubbing her hands together diabolically. "We grab him!" Antonio grinned and stood up, slowly sneaking around behind Arthur to grab him, as Eve instructed to do. He waited until Elizabeta had turned to look towards the stairs before wrapping both arms around Arthur's waist, teasingly restraining him ignoring the yelp of protest.

"Got him! No what mija?" He asked as he kissed Arthur on the cheek.

"Tickle him!" Eve cheered rushing forward and attempting to tickle the older man with tiny fingers. Arthur blinked in confusion at the attempt then began to chuckle slightly.

"What are you two doing? Double teaming me? For shame!" Arthur laughed as he looked down at the child with amusement in his eyes.

Antonio laughed and prodded Arthur's sides with clever fingers, winking at Eve as she giggled madly in front of Arthur. "We're tickling you apparently! She's a devious little child. Now fear our tickling finger's amor." He teased as he kissed the man on the cheek.

Arthur let out a laugh as he strained against Antonio's hold his sides starting to scream the moment Antonio began to tickle him. "No! No stop that! Anthony!" He laughed loudly earning a giggle from Eve as he squirmed against Antonio's hold "Both of you stop this! Ah...ahahahaha!" he sputtered his eyes watering madly as the children all began to laugh at his suffering. "I'll get you b...aaahahaack for this!" He swore his hands scrabbling at Antonio's arm.

"What was that? Lo siento... I couldn't understand you through all the laughing! What's the matter Arturo?" Antonio teased a bright grin on his face as he continued to tickle Arthur relentlessly, earning loud peels of bell like laughter from the children as they watched. "Arturo... Are you, by chance, ticklish, amor?" he asked as Arthur writhed in his attempts to escape.

Arthur couldn't answer, flailing breathlessly he laughed until tears were rolling down his face and his cheeks were flushed a dark crimson with exertion and embarrassment. He was indeed, badly ticklish and honestly hated being tickled with a passion, but the strain on his lungs to keep oxygen to his lungs was too much and he couldn't bring himself to voice the objection.

"He's turning purple Mr. Tonio!" Eve laughed clapping her tiny hands giddily. Antonio laughed along with the children, but let Arthur go once his face had darkened to a lovely shade of purple.

"Alright that's enough. I don't want my Englishman to pass out from asphyxiation." He quickly wrapped his arms around Arthur again as he swayed a bit, looking a bit concerned. "You alright, amor?"

Arthur gasped for air, hiccupping giggles mixing with the rasping search for air. Clinging onto Antonio desperately he felt the tears that were streaming down his face as his vision swam slightly. "You...you git." He rasped resting his forehead against Antonio's shoulder with another giggling fit. "I'm g...going to get you back for that." He promised, the threat whispered into Antonio's ear purposefully. "

Mr. Iggy why are you crying?!" Eve demanded in confusion. "Sometimes when you get tickled you cry little one." Jessie explained with a smile.

"I'm sure you will. I'm sure you will." Antonio said with a grin that just screamed he was proud of himself, not bothered by Arthur's threatening words in the slightest. "It's ok Eve. He's just giggly and wound up now is all. No worries little one."

"Oh you cocky bastard." Arthur chuckled rubbing at his aching ribs as they throbbed underneath his skin. He had to admit though the lighthearted joy in Antonio's eyes was almost worth the pain and embarrassment of being tickled. "Yes I'm quite alright, but if I kill Antonio you only have yourself to blame." He laughed winking at the child when she looked momentarily shocked. Eve giggled and shyly hid behind Jessie

"Sorry Mr. Tonio!" She chirped with a giggle.

"It's alright little one. I'm 90%...No 95% sure that he won't kill me. Call me crazy, but I think, and I'm just going out on a limb here, but I think the Arthur in question would probably miss me a bit too much if I died." Antonio chuckled as he pressed a kiss to Arthur's neck playfully.

Arthur grumbled something along the lines of 'willing to risk the loneliness' under his breath earning a giggle from Anna. "I'm sure he won't kill you Mr. Tonio!" Eve chirped looking thrilled at the entire situation.

Antonio rolled his eyes in good humor and shook his head. "I'm sure he won't either. Worth it? I see... Well guess I'll see you later then, Arturo." He said, sounding completely serious though amusement danced in his emerald eyes as he let go of Arthur and proceeded to head out of the room.

"I'll see you later indeed Anthony." Arthur grumbled resting his head against Antonio's shoulder with a shake of his head his eyes sparkling with good humor. Eve giggled behind them and tugged Anna down to whisper in her ear.

"They look like they're going to kiss again." She explained pulling a face earning a giggle from the older girl.

~X~

Leon sat on the floor and pulled his knees to his chest, setting the atlas in front of him. With a sigh he opened it and ran his finger's over the lines, tracing the roads him and his family were supposed to be traveling on. He sniffled softly, a wave of longing rolling through his skinny frame. "Mutti, Vati... Oma... I miss you... Is this the right thing to do? Join up with these strangers? I know... I know how you guys always said it can be hard to except help... But if I don't find someone to help me take care of Dexton and those kids... We'll all die. I'm... I'm so scared Oma... What if this is wrong?" He said, looking out the window and up at the sky as he had a rather one sided conversation with his decease grandmother

Gilbert moved upstairs, finding the room that the children had stayed in and moving to open the door only to hesitate as he heard Leon speaking. Frowning when he heard the grief in his voice and the distress at having to trust strangers he felt a pang of familiarity in his chest. This boy was so like himself, and it pained him to realize that he was suffering so similarly to how he had suffered growing up, feeling alone and unprotected. Sighing he leaned up against the door and rested his hands in his hair.

"I'm not strong enough for this... So often now I think about running away, leaving behind all my responsibilities... I wouldn't have to be so afraid then…But then I remember Dexton. I'm all he has... the others too... And I know I could never do that... I love them all too much to leave them alone to die... But... But I just..." A soft sob tore through Leon's chest as he quivered with fear and grief, momentarily choked by the raw emotion inside. "I'm just scared... So... terrified..." He closed his eyes and hugged his knees to his chest a bit tighter as he rested his forehead on top of them. "Why can't you be where I can see you...? I know you'd know what to do... Even when Mutti and Vati didn't... You always knew..."

Gilbert sighed as he listened in. Knowing that the boy would probably be embarrassed, but that he would need someone just then, he pressed open the door and moved forward stepping behind the boy slowly "You know... just because you can't see her that doesn't mean she's not there." He whispered knocking on the door so he wouldn't think he was an infected. "I know that you're scared...holle...I'm scared." He sighed not looking at the boy in the eye as he turned towards him. "But...even though we are strangers...I won't let anything happen to you and your bruder." he promised looking back at him "You and I, we'll take care of them wont we?"

Leon jumped a bit and furiously wiped at his eyes as Gilbert began to speak. He couldn't really bring himself to be angry with the man for eavesdropping on him, though that didn't stop the deep red blush that flooded his cheeks "I will always take care of my bruder... Always. Even when he doesn't want me to I would... I would... I don't even know what I would do if he got hurt, and I know she's with me...I can feel her, but that doesn't mean I can't wish she was here. She'd tell me what I need to do; she'd hug me and say not to be afraid. I mean let's face it! I'm 17! 17, and taking care of four terrified kids... I might be strong and determined to keep them alive, but that's not enough! I can't do it anymore. I just can't..." He whispered, hanging his head in shame.

Gilbert waited long enough for him to speak, then sighed moving forward and kneeling beside him slowly. Reaching out he pulled the boy into his arms and like he had done so many times with Ludwig he began to pat his hair gently. "I know...I know it's tough. That it isn't fair, but you've done such a good job. You kept them alive, you kept them together. Now you can relax and know that we'll help you...you don't have to be alone anymore."

"You've done this before... Haven't you?" Leon guessed quietly, clinging tightly to Gilbert, wishing there was some way he could just be a little boy and not have to worry about anything. Always taken care of... "What did you do... How did you... Not be scared? So you guys help us... but I'll always feel like I have to be there for them. Like I have to help them... keep them safe.

"Well I've never fought zombies before. That's new." Gilbert chuckled sadly as he glanced out the window across from them. "Like I said, I have…had a little bruder of my own." He pointed out patting the boy's back gently. "How do I not be scared? I don't...I'm always scared, always afraid something will happen, but I keep going, I keep fighting through it, because fear is something I can't allow to cripple me." He explained softly thinking back to those moments he wanted nothing more than to freeze up and give up "You will keep them safe...and we'll help."

Leon sighed and let go of Gilbert, moving away from him and looking out the window. "I... "He stated to say but instead he just closed his eyes and shook his head "I found the atlas. It has roads, but only the main ones. If you need side streets, we'll have to find something else. It's the best I've got." He said, carefully controlling his emotions as best he could manage.

Gilbert sighed as the boy pulled away and almost attempted to keep him in his arms as a pang of loneliness he had long suppressed welled up again, but he let the boy go knowing that it was for the best that he had his moment to prove he could be an adult "That's all we need right now...basic roads. We can get a more detailed road map later on. "

Leon nodded and closed the atlas from when he had been looking at it on the floor, and handed it to Gilbert, biting the inside of his lip hard enough for it to bleed and not daring to meet the strange, albino man's eyes. "Here, hopefully this works then." He looked down at the floor with a sigh and a soft shudder.

Gilbert accepted the map with a smile and reached out to clasp the boy's shoulder firmly. "Danke, Leon... you've done a wonderful job here, and I hope I can keep up with the standards you've set." He grinned ruffling the boy's hair and turning to the door. "Are you coming? I can hear them laughing without us, and that's just not awesome of them at all now is it?"

Leon smiled slightly, but shook his head, returning to the space on the floor between the two beds in the room. "I think I'll just stay up here. You go down though if you want. You don't want to miss out on all of the fun, ja?" He said quietly, eyes flitting back to the window as he sighed softly

Gilbert shrugged and with a sigh threw himself onto the bed pulling his hands over his eyes "I have been stuck with those three for was...a week now? Nein, I like the quiet." He chuckled not wanting to say that he didn't want the boy up here by himself in case something did find him in the room. "Unless you'd like me gone of course...then I would be happy to oblige and find a different room."

Leon looked startled and it was clear he debated on whether or not he wanted to tell Gilbert to leave so he could be alone, but after a moment he just shrugged and stood up before sitting at the edge of the bed, pulling his knees to his chest. "I don't really care either way I guess..." He rolled his eyes and laughed softly despite himself. "Though if you wanted to keep an eye on me you should've just said so. I'm not blind, nor am I stupid. If I was, the five of us would have died weeks ago with the start of this infection. Don't lie to me Gilbert. I like you. I might not trust you yet... But I like you." He warned, guess the real reason Gilbert had decided to stay.

Gilbert glanced up at the boy and smiled a chuckle curling from his throat softly. "You caught me...sharp as a tack, I like that. Ja, I wanted to keep an eye on you." He smiled his hands resting over his eyes as he closed them. Sighing heavily he peeked out from behind his finger tips and chuckled. "I'm glad you like me. I don't like it when people dislike makes creating a lasting friendship difficult."

Leon smiled back, a real one. Not one he had to force or one that just barely showed on his face. It was... shocking to find, but it felt right, even after so many days. "Friends? The other three not enough for you now you have to make friends with a group of ragtag renegade children? Maybe I shouldn't trust you... Might just go and ditch us for new friends when you get bored." He teased softly, bringing his chin down to rest on his knees.

"One of those friends just happens to be my wife. Attempting to replace her would end in my untimely demise." Gilbert chuckled not bothering to look up from his rested position "I'm not replacing them! I am adding onto my circle of friends! Who cares if you're renegade children or not? Adults are boring." He laughed looking highly amused by the entire conversation

"Mmm... Well then maybe I can trust you. I doubt you'd get rid of your wife. She's kind of scary frying pan? Mein gott I didn't realize she could move it that fast until it was blocking my bat! She seems nice though, you both do." Leon stated, sounding thoughtful. "Adults do seem rather boring. Though I guess I shouldn't be saying that, I guess I've sort of had to become one." he shrugged, though he looked a bit troubled by his own words

"Ja, she's scary...kesesese used that frying pan on me long before she used it on the zombies." Gilbert chuckled sitting up with a sigh and glancing over at the boy. "I can agree with that statement about growing up, and let me state something in addition: You're only as grown up as you let yourself be. Me? I never grew up. Growing up is boring. As far as I'm concerned, I will never grow up."

"Really? I... don't envy you. That pan looks like it would hurt." Leon said with a soft laugh before he tilted his head to the side curiously, think about what Gilbert said. "I guess that makes sense... Growing up is over rated."

"It did hurt, badly." Gilbert grinned smiling over at the boy with a laugh. "Ja, overrated indeed...stay a kid, life's more fun that way." He assured the boy running a hand through his tousled silver hair. When the child laughed behind him, Gilbert closed his eyes. Maybe everything would be alright after all.

* * *

**So there you have it! As always, review and let us know how you like it or if you have any questions too! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Don't hate us. It's been rough and there was miscommunication! Here it is and we promise the next one will be on Saturday!**

**Warnings: Zombies, anger and foul language!**

* * *

The day passed at a rather lazy pace, after their nap, Leon and Gilbert returned to where the rest of the group was discussing what they wanted to accomplish before they set out in the next few days. Sighing as the moment that they stepped into the room, they were met with smiling faces explaining that they were going to be going through the upper floors in search of useable supplies. They exchanged glances before lifting up the bags that were offered to them. Chuckling, Gilbert agreed to take Jessie up to the fourth floor to start searching while Antonio and Arthur took the third and the rest of the kids stayed down in the lobby with Elizabeta.

Wrapping his arm around Arthur's waist, Antonio smiled as he tugged Arthur towards the third floor, earning an amused look from the Englishman. "In a hurry for some alone time, love?" Arthur asked, amused, sitting back while he watched Antonio kick open one of the doors sprawling out in front of them, still waiting to be searched. Shrugging, Antonio grinned over his shoulder, his eyes sparkling as he took Arthur's hand and lead him inside the room.

"Maybe." He winked playfully before moving up to one of the suitcases on the bed and beginning to rifle through it. Pulling out a bottle of wine, he grinned, waving it in Arthur's face with a laugh. "Wine, amor?" Arthur chuckled in amusement and shook his head, lowering the bottle out of his face.

"I have absolutely no alcohol tolerance, Antonio." He explained with a smile, placing the bottle aside for Antonio to take if he desired. "And I don't think that you'd appreciate having to carry me on your back while I spiral into a state of emotional turmoil and intoxication should something happen. I'd probably end up demanding you accomplish something impossible, and then get upset when you explain that you can't do it." He winked before pulling a few shirts out of the bag and grinning when he found a few his size.

"You know I think that you're too harsh on yourself…you can't be that bad!" Antonio laughed, wrapping the bottle in a shirt for later before storing it in his bag and lifting up a bright red dress with a grin. Holding it up to himself he earned an amused look from Arthur. "What do you think?"

"It's lovely, dear, really brings out your eyes, but I'm not sure how functional it would be." Arthur smiled softly before holding the shirts that he found up to his chest. "Hmmm…I feel like we really shouldn't be shopping for new things to wear, but I'd move to grab a few of these as well." He murmured as he tossed a few into the bag before moving to remove a shirt with a hum.

Wincing when his shoulder throbbed the moment that he pulled his arms over his head, he sighed and gasped, feeling warm fingers gently ghost over his bruised shoulder. Turning around in confusion, he came face to face with a concerned looking Antonio.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his eyes concerned when Antonio's hand slid off of his shoulder and came to rest on his arm. Antonio smiled shakily when Arthur looked back at him and sighed, his eyes flashing with concern.

"Your shoulder…why didn't you tell me that it was still bothering you?" He asked softly rubbing his thumb over the skin of Arthur's upper arm. Shaking his hand, Arthur sighed as he reached up and cupped Antonio's cheek in his hand.

"I'm fine pet…I promise." He assured the man earning a frown from Antonio, who obviously didn't believe him. "Antonio it doesn't hurt that bad I'm fine." He repeated, taking his hands with a smile before moving to pull the shirt he selected over his head. When Antonio still looked unconvinced he sighed and turned towards him. "What? What's wrong? Antonio even if it was bothering me I wouldn't make a fuss about it. She bruised my shoulder…that's all." He promised though he didn't know for sure himself.

It hurt, yes, but that didn't mean he couldn't ignore it. As long as no one was prodding him and he remembered to take the painkillers he had picked up at a pharmacy they had rummaged through on their way to the hotel, he could easily pretend that the dull throb on his back was just a bruise.

"Amor…has anyone looked at your shoulder?" Antonio asked, his patience sounding a bit strained when Arthur jerked away from his reaching hands when he tried to get a better look at the swollen, bruised skin.

"Not…necessarily." Arthur murmured, his hands moving to bat Antonio's hands away when the man reached out. "Anthony, honestly I am fine! Can we just get back to what we were doing, please?" he snapped, not wanting Antonio to worry about something he had no way of fixing even if he wanted to. Antonio flinched away with a sigh, a bit hurt by the outburst when he only wanted to help.

"But Arthur…" He started wanting to at least have the man sit down and put something cool over the shoulder until the swelling, that was still obvious on the wound, went down.

"No but's Antonio. I'm fine." Arthur huffed as he shook his head, tossing a few bars of soap into his bag before lifting it onto his good shoulder with a wince and heading back to the door. "Let's go to the next room please…" His voice was tired when Antonio hesitated, obviously about five minutes away from pinning Arthur down and tending to the injury by force.

Antonio looked reluctant, but with a sigh he grumbled as he pulled his bag onto his shoulder and brushed past Arthur. He didn't want to admit it, but Arthur's words stung. All he wanted was to help him. Couldn't Arthur see that?

~X~

Jessie beamed as she followed behind the two men, watching them sort through the belongings that the adults had abandoned. They hadn't been up onto the fourth floor; Leon had said that they could wait until after they ran out of supplies on the bottom few floors first. Humming as she pulled open a woman's purse she grinned, pulling a small clip from the purse and placing it in her hair.

"Leon what do you think?" She asked, pouting when the boy barely glanced up from the bag he was sorting through.

"Yeah it looks great." He pointed out, tossing Gilbert a few rolls of toilet paper he found in the bathroom. Jessie sighed as she adjusted the clip, wandering to the door of the room and peeking outside again. This was boring….why couldn't she stay downstairs with Elizabeta with the others?

Looking around the hallway, she blinked when she spotted the next door they were supposed to go in. There was some sort of mark on the wood…something that looked oddly like a handprint. Peeking over her shoulder, she assured herself that Gilbert and Leon were still talking softly about whether or not they should take any of the electronics if not just for parts before moving up to the door.

She knew it was a bad idea to run off, but she was curious, and she didn't know why some of the rooms on the top floor were all taped off. She knew that this place had been used as a safe zone for a while, before the adults all left, maybe they left some important things in the rooms further down the hall?

Walking past one of the rooms, she jumped when she noticed that the door was open…and she swore she heard movement inside. Her heart thundering in her chest as she heard footsteps shuffling across the floor, she looked up at one of the walls where someone had hastily scrawled out some warnings.

"Do not enter"

"Infected"

"Quarantined"

Squeaking at her findings, Jessie moved up to the open door and with a shudder peeked inside. There were at least six of the things in the room, stumbling and staggering around as they moaned and snarled. Shuddering violently at the knowledge that the only thing keeping these things from stumbling down the stairs was a partially open door, she started to move backward quickly.

Turning around though, she felt a small shriek fall from her lips, as one of the creatures from another room down the hall came reached out and tried to snag her around the wrist. "Leon!" she wailed, stumbling backwards and sprinting towards where Leon and Gilbert were rummaging. It wasn't Leon she ran into though, instead, she rammed into Gilbert's broad chest, gasping as she looked up at him. "I…Their…They!" She stammered as a small horde of the creatures started to claw their way out of the rooms in search of her voice. They were all but surrounded.

~X~

Antonio and Arthur were working in an awkward silence, the brunette holding back his irritation at being ignored by the man in front of him and the blonde attempting to keep working without showing how painful his injury really was. Glancing over at the other man, two pairs of green eyes met, before lowering again back to their own work.

Why was he taking this so personally? It was his decision not to tell him…it wasn't like being hurt was affecting anyone but himself. Arthur decided as he tossed a few water bottles he found into a bag with a bit more force than what was actually needed.

Why was Arthur so stubborn?! He just wanted to help! If Arthur thought it wasn't a big deal then why wasn't he just letting him help? Antonio raged silently as he glanced over at the blonde, opening his mouth to speak only to clamp it shut again. He'd let Arthur apologize first, and then he'd tell him to let him look over his shoulder properly. Until then he was going to let Arthur pout and huff until he decided to be an adult about this and let him tend to his wound.

Fed up with the silence, Arthur whirled around to say something to the man when he heard a screech of terror coming from upstairs. Glancing at Antonio, he grabbed his gun before sprinting out the door, Antonio in hot pursuit with his ax in his hands.

Coming up the stairs, Arthur gasped as he spotted the three Germans fending off a small horde of infected, somehow managing to be backed up against a door. "Gilbert over here!" He called as he fired into the skull of one of the creature's trying to snag onto Leon's arm from the side. Wincing as its head exploded with a pop, he grimaced and shot a glance at Antonio.

"Where did these bastards come from?!" He demanded furiously as he lurched towards the others who were struggling to wade through the infected.

Leon sprinted to Jessie's side and pulled her away from the gnashing teeth of the hungry infected and in the same second drew a hunting knife from his hip and stabbed it up into the infected's skull where it fell limp at their feet. Glancing over at Arthur and Antonio he grabbed onto Jessie's shoulder and directed her towards them. "Get down stairs!" He snarled as two more heads turned in their direction, moans of hunger and misery dropping from their lips. "Go go go!" He shoved Jessie in front of him, pushing her towards the stairs. "Verdammt..."

Jessie let out a terrified shriek as another creature burst into the hallway, cutting off their escape. Sobbing, she lashed out with Leon's bat and slammed the creature back, but didn't manage to have the power in her swing to kill it. "Leon! There's too many!" She wailed as the creature was joined by others, drawn by the sound of the other attacking infected. Squealing as one of the creatures lurched between herself and Leon, she stumbled back, swinging madly with the bat to try and fend it off.

Leon slammed his knife into one of the creature's eye sockets with a snarl, irritated and terrified now that he had been separated from Jessie. Even after Arthur and Antonio had joined them he realized just how hopeless this fight might be. "GILBERT! What do we do?!" He thundered, yelping as Antonio's ax came whizzing just over his head and sent the heavy bladed weapon cleaving through one of the infected's skulls. Blood splattered everywhere, but the Spaniard, nor anyone else, stopped to comment on the foul smelling gore as they battled against the cannibalistic corpses.

Gilbert felt his stomach drop as he spotted the ten or so creatures that were lumbering towards Leon and the others. Snarling, he aimed at a few who were closest to Jessie and Arthur and killed them with three well placed shots, grimacing as Arthur and Jessie were both coated with the gore that splattered out from the creatures.

"Damn it Gilbert! A little warning?!" Arthur protested, wiping at his face and shooting a creature that wandered too close to Antonio for his liking. "Damn it all!" He roared as more creatures stumbled into the hall as another door cracked open behind them, one of them slamming into Jessie and sending her spiraling to the ground. Gilbert and Arthur rushed forward at the same time, Arthur ramming into the creature and Gilbert scooping Jessie up into his arms.

Arthur didn't realize how bad of an idea it was to tackle the creature with how injured he was until it was too late. Yelping, he saw stars for a moment as his shoulder screamed, but managed to blast open the creatures head with a well-placed bullet before it could clamp its jaws around his wrist. Standing he swayed, his shoulder howling in pain as he stumbled towards the others.

Leon growled angrily as the creatures swarmed around them, growing in numbers as they burst through the splitting doors. "Gilbert we need to get out of here before they get downstairs!" He said, sounding determined as he slammed the knife into one of the creature's head once more.

Moving behind the young blonde, Antonio wore a vicious grin on his face as his ax cut one in half, a triumphant sound rising in his throat as he brought the blade back down into the same creature's skull.

Wiping blood from his face, he turned toward Gilbert. "Amigo... He's right. If many more of these things come, we don't stand much of a chance."

Gilbert nodded and placed Jessie on her own two feet as he fired at a few more of the creatures killing two but leaving three in their place. He knew very well the situation they were in. "Gott verdammt..." He growled keeping Jessie firmly at his side, his eyes flickering from person to person attempting to keep them all in his line of sight. "Arthur! Two on your left!" He barked before turning his attention back to Leon determinedly "Leon! Move towards me _now_ I'll keep them off you!" He ordered, firing into the skulls of two of the creatures closest to Leon.

Antonio moved to help Arthur when he saw him sway, but actually hung back after a brief second's hesitation, not wanting to anger the man. Instead he turned towards two infected that were charging at the group with screams of starvation, dispatching them easily.

Arthur hissed as he clutched at his shoulder shakily, his head swimming with pain and the blood pounding in his head. Groaning, he stumbled towards where Gilbert shouted from, only to flinch as another creature burst into the hall and barreled into him. Yowling in pain, he rolled in a desperate attempt to throw off the infected woman who was attempting to bite into his throat. Kicking up with a grunt, he sent her flying backwards and shakily stumbled to his feet, firing into the creature's skull.

Herding Leon and Jessie to the stairs, Gilbert turned to Antonio and Arthur and whistled once he was sure Arthur was back on his feet. "Let's go you two there's too many!" He barked gesturing for them to follow as he dove down the stairs with Leon and Jessie held protectively in front of him.

Antonio didn't have to be told twice, scooped up Arthur in his arms he reluctantly let go of his ax with tears in his eyes. He'd never be able to retrieve it after this... When Arthur opened his mouth to protest noisily, he glared down at him.

"Argue with me about carrying you and I'll throw you back to them!" He threatened, being dead serious. He had seen Arthur swaying, had seen his face screw up with pain. Like hell he was going to let the Brit walk down stairs if he couldn't even stand normally. He hissed in pain as clawed finger's scored down his back, leaving deep crimson ruts in is tanned skin, but before the creature could grab them both, he took off down the stairs after the other three.

"Antonio your ax!" Arthur yelped in surprised protest scrambling too late to grab it as he dropped it. Wincing as he pulled his shoulder when he lurched suddenly, he shook his head. He couldn't grab it. Instead of protesting Antonio carrying him, he turned until he could look behind him and began firing at any creature stupid enough to come close to them. "I'm sorry…" he whispered as they followed after Gilbert.

"Just forget about it." The Spaniard rasped, eyes glazing with sorrow for a moment. That ax had not only been the only inanimate thing he had in the apocalypse that held any meaning, but also was the only tangible memory he had still owned from his abuelo. He shook his head as each gunshot sent his ears ringing noisily, trying to shake the clinging grief.

"I'm so sorry Antonio...I'm so so sorry." Arthur whispered when he caught the grief in his eyes. A pang of guilt welled up in his chest as he fired into the growing crowd of infected. Was he the reason Antonio had lost the grand weapon?

~X~

"Leon!" Dexton cried as he spotted the boy running down the stairs. The children were all clustered in the room, safe, with Elizabeta, who had herded the children to the front doors when she heard the noise, standing in front of the younger children defensively. "Are you ok?" The young German boy demanded, throwing his arms around his brother's waist only to squeak as his brother scooped him off the ground.

Gilbert moved up behind Leon with a relieved sigh and gathering what he could and handed the bags that Elizabeta had grabbed to the children. "Run...outside get in the black truck waiting just outside the doors." He ordered, pressing the keys into Leon's hands and closing the boy's hands around them. "Wait for us, we'll be there soon." he explained, ignoring any protests or questions pouring out of the children's mouths. "I have to hold them off until you guys are safe. I promised didn't I? Now hurry." He barked, turning around and firing at a few infected stumbling down the stairs clumsily

Leon met Gilbert's eyes, every fiber of his being telling him to stay until they could all escape safely, but his brother and the other little kids came first. He took the keys and herded the children forward and out the doors. He fervently thanked God that there weren't any of the damned creatures in the parking lot, but with all the noise they were making, they were sure to attract more. He scooped Eve and Dexton up as they struggled to keep pace with him and Jessie, who had already scooped up Anna.

With steady hands he handed the keys to Dexton as they were heading through the lobby doors, seeing the black truck easily. "Unlock it bruder.. Click the button. It's like Mutti's". He nodded approvingly when the truck blipped once, headlights flashing.

As the five reached the truck, he threw the door open and sat the two kids inside, pushing them down to the floorboards. "Don't look up until you hear Mr. Gilbert's voice ok?" He commanded before walking a few paces in front of the truck, turning this way and that to watch for infected that tried to come at the truck. Satisfied there weren't any close, he pulled himself inside and locked the doors. "It'll be ok guys. It'll be ok." He promised. Worse came to worst... He'd be able to dive them out.

Cowering, the children hunkered onto the floor. Eve was crying silently, confused and overwhelmed by the sudden change of mood after just being woken up. Clinging onto Jessie, she hiccupped and flinched as she heard gunshots filling the air. Dexton remained desperately quite, his own baseball bat clenched firmly in his hands. Anna was silent as well, her head on Jessie's lap as they stared desperately at the door.

"Where are they?" She squeaked, terrified. "They didn't...die did they?" She could still hear gun shots, but the idea of losing the only adults they knew terrified her.

Leon rested a hand on Dexton's quivering shoulder as he listened. Slowly he peeked out the window, his heart stuttering to a standstill before thundering rapidly as the adults came into view. "They didn't die liebling. They're coming. I can see them." He whispered softly in Anna's direction, itching to get out of the car to help, though he stayed where he was, knowing it'd be better for the other four if he stayed. It was frustrating as he watched the others, only to freeze when he realized he couldn't see Elizabeta.

All five of them jumped when someone banged on the window of the door, many of them screaming. It was Dexton who recognized the figure as Elizabeta's, and he fumbled with the keys, unlocking the door for her.

The Hungarian flew the door open and climbed inside, tossing aside her bloodied frying pan. "Are you all alright? None of you are hurt, right?" She demanded, taking the keys from Dexton and slamming them into the ignition. The truck roared to life as she started it.

"Come on Gil... Come on." She chanted, watching her husband with fearful eyes.

Antonio shook his head and sprinted for their car where it sat beside Gilbert's monster of a truck, a sudden realization dawning on him. "Arthur. I need you to get the keys out of my pocket." He said in as calm of a tone as he could manage. The result was fairly even despite his roiling irritation, fear and adrenaline hyped nerves.

Arthur nodded and reached inside Antonio's pocket, pulling them free and scrambling to his own feet as they reached a stop. Opening the door with a grunt, he jumped into the passenger seat and jammed the keys into the ignition. "We're good!" He called over his shoulder pulling Antonio into the car with him.

Gilbert stayed firmly in front of Antonio and Arthur's smaller truck as he blasted the infected that were attempting to clamber their way through the still open door. Swearing as they started to break through the glass, he shot a reassuring look at Elizabeta, feeling her eyes on him. He was about the rush at truck, but the zombies lurched in towards him suddenly and with a curse he allowed Arthur to heave him into the car as well.

"Elizabeta drive!" He roared over his shoulder, praying the woman heard him as he slammed the car door behind him while Antonio crawled into the driver's seat.

Elizabeta shivered as Gilbert disappeared into the other car, but hearing the screams of the infuriated infected they were escaping, she pressed on the gas, tires squealing in protest as the vehicle leapt forward, crashing into the bodies of some of the infected with sickening squelches.

"Get into a seat and buckle up, all of you!" She commanded, voice higher pitched than usual from stress.

The children scrambled to obey immediately, Jessie moving into the front seat with Elizabeta and pulling on her seatbelt while Eve and Dexton squeezed together to use one of the ones in the back, Leon and Anna taking the remaining two.

"Did Gilbert make it out ok?" Dexton squeaked, looking over his shoulder at the car behind them with terribly worried blue eyes.

"I want my mutti!" Eve wailed clinging onto Leon desperately and sobbing into his shoulder, completely terrified and overwhelmed with their hasty escape and all the chaos that accompanied it.

Leon wrapped his arms around Eve, pulling her to him as best he could with the restraining seat belts. "You listen to me liebling. Everything will be ok. I swore to you that I'd never ever let anything bad happen to you, ja? I won't let them touch you... I won't let them hurt you. I know you're scared... Believe me, I know... But just remember your Mutti is watching over you. She'll keep you safe too." He sootherd, sparing a glance only to nod reassuringly at his brother.

Eve nodded and though tears continued streaming down her cheeks, she fell silent, wrapping her arms around Leon with a sniffle. "Ok..." She whimpered, not even looking up when Dexton hugged her from the side as well. On Leon's other side, Anna let out a shuddering breath and leaned against Leon shyly, closing her eyes with a sniff of her own.

Leon wordlessly wrapped one of his arms around Anna with a sigh, pulling her as close to him as he could manage. "You guys will always be safe so long as I am around. No matter what, I will always keep them away from you." He promised in a soft voice, the adrenaline slowly leaving his body as he calmed back down with the relative safety of the massive truck.

The children all nodded in unison, their eyes all red with tears they wanted to spill but held back just barely with Leon's words. Sniffling, they clung onto the older boy and shivered as the adrenaline ran out slowly from their systems.

"Should we stop somewhere and make sure that they're all ok?" Jessie asked Elizabeta softly her eyes locked stubbornly onto the road ahead, afraid if she looked anywhere else she'd see the gnashing teeth of the infected or the distraught eyes of her family. When the Hungarian woman shook her head, hands white knuckled on the wheel, she fell silent shyly, surprised to hear Leon speaking again.

Leon, after a moment, had began telling a story to the kids, his voice soft and soothing as he spun a tale about a young warrior who fought scary dragons and giants, trying to get the children to focus on calming back down and to distract them from their fears, if only for a little while. Though his ale was brave and valiant, he couldn't keep a creeping fear from his heart. How was he going to keep his promise?

~X~

Antonio followed behind her almost until their bumpers touched, not questioning the albino's presence for a second. "We'll stop as soon as we're free from these damned creatures." He promised, not taking his eyes off of the other car. "Gilbert. How medically savvy are you?"

Gilbert, who had just started to believe they had all made it out alright, was instantly back on high alert. "Did one of you get bit? Arthur? I saw that one tackle you, are you ok?" He asked, his eyes flashing with concern. "I'm fine...I'm fine..." Arthur repeated, his hand moving up to his shoulder and cradling the wounded area gently. "Antonio I'm fine..." He whispered insistently, clenching his eyes shut and shuddering violently, not wanting the other to notice that the arm basically hung useless at his side. "It...It's just a bruise...don't worry about me, just worry about getting us out of here."

Antonio's eyes darkened in anger and he grit his teeth hard enough that a tension line formed on his cheeks. He wasn't blind, nor was he dumb, and he could blatantly see the pain in Arthur's face. "A bruise" didn't cause that sort of pain.

"Damn it Arthur, if you say once more that you're fine you are all going to find yourself short of a Spaniard. Stop fighting against help, you prideful, stubborn, pain in my ass. You're only going to get yourself killed that way. Cut the crap before I get out of this car and find my own way to survive." He threatened in an ominously serious voice. At the bewildered look in Gilbert's eyes he narrowed his eyes in impatience.

"Your wife hit him with that frying pain of hers, hard enough to have killed an infected. He refuses to let anyone even look at it." He muttered, voice rough with his irate concern.

"I..." Arthur felt his heart pinch tightly. Scowling furiously, he looked away hurt and terrified that the Spaniard would actually leave him over something so simple.

"Hey...calm down would you? This is probably why he kept it hidden from you!" Gilbert barked, catching the horrified look in Arthur's eyes and glancing back at the Spaniard irritably. He knew Antonio was worried, but being so hostile wasn't going to help anything.

"I remember when she did that...I was starting to think she missed." He muttered, his eyes narrowing with concern. His Eliza had a _nasty_ swing with the solid iron pan and he knew it. Better than most. "Arthur...when it hit you, did you feel anything pop... or break...? Did hurt a lot, or did it sort of just sear for a minute and fade?" He was no expert, but he at least knew where to start asking questions.

Arthur looked up at the albino slowly and sighed shakily, knowing he couldn't hide the truth any longer. "It...it's broken." He whispered, not looking at Antonio as he spoke. "Fractured at the very least...I can tell because...because I can feel the bone pieces rubbing together." He explained, earning a worried frown from Gilbert. "I...bandaged it and everything, but...I took the wrap off this morning when I said I was using the restroom and didn't have time to put them back on." He attempted to reason weakly.

Antonio had suspected something was wrong, and the fact Arthur hadn't trusted him enough or thought to tell him stung badly. "Do you not understand that you are the single most important thing in my life right now? Do you not realize how much I love you and just want you to be safe and ok?" The Spaniard grumbled ominously after a long moment of silence, blinking back tears of absolute terror for the Englishman as he continued to drive.

He held up a shuddering hand as Gilbert opened his mouth to speak, looking ready to defend Arthur. "Don't you dare try to tell me this isn't fair to him Gilbert..." He rasped, sounding both incredibly angry and concerned all in the same instant. "I know damn well you'd be reacting the same way if it was your wife."

"I...I didn't..." Arthur stammered tears forming in his eyes as he looked up at Antonio, his eyes silently beginning for forgiveness, but he ended up looked away, eyes locking onto the window.

Antonio said he was the most important thing in his life, but had also said moments ago that he would leave him. The pain of those words stabbed into his heart and rendered him unable to speak for fear of sobbing. He was too proud to cry in front of the man who couldn't seem to understand that he didn't say anything because he had it under control. There was nothing he could have done but worry profusely anyway!

Pulling a first aid kit from the floor of the passenger seat, he tugged off his shirt and wordlessly began binding his arm, creating a makeshift sling now that he had nothing to hide. "I... Didn't want you to worry..." He whispered quietly, praying Antonio would understand.

Antonio didn't speak anymore after that, too angry and hurt to have any desire to speak. He didn't want to say anything he was thinking out loud anyway. Why didn't Arthur tell him? It didn't matter if there was nothing he could do about it, he still would have liked to know just to make sure he was careful! Did Arthur really think so little of him to believe he wouldn't care about him hurting? Not to mention the man had straight up lied to him! He had asked when Elizabeta had first hit him if he thought it was broken...

Gilbert watched the whole exchange guardedly, feeling miffed at both parties; Arthur for not speaking up about his injury, and Antonio for lashing out at the man despite the obvious distress it was causing. Watching calmly as Arthur wound his wound slowly, he sighed and sat back in his seat rubbing his temples. "We should stop soon... If you can find a house or something, Antonio." He pointed out, glancing at the Spaniard.

Arthur glanced up out of habit as the man spoke, but catching the conflicted look in Antonio's eyes he flinched and glanced away again, wanting nothing more than to just disappear into the floorboards. This version of grief was a terrible, numb feeling that crawled into his chest and nested, leaving him to curl in around himself stiffly a single tear rolling across his cheek only to be wiped away determinedly.

Antonio, once again, stayed silent, only reacting to Gilbert's words by flashing his lights at Eliza and pulling around her, taking the lead to find some place to stop, as requested.

His heart twisted painfully in his chest as he drove, trying to understand why Arthur hadn't said anything. Why he had lied, yet the longer he thought about it, the angrier he felt and the stronger the sense of betrayal became. He hadn't realized he was slowly gaining speed until a firm hand rested on his shoulder.

"Antonio slow down...if you come around a corner and there's an abandoned car or something you're going to hit it and we'll all die." Gilbert barked firmly, his eyes narrowed onto the Spaniard. "I don't know what's going through that head of yours, but don't let it endangers us all." He commanded, glancing to the side with a scowl. "House coming up on your right. Just stop there ok? We'll figure out this mess when we get there." The silver haired man assured with a sigh, squeezing Antonio's shoulder in grudging reassurance.

Arthur flinched slightly at the amount of anger and hurt he could feel rolling off of Antonio. What had he done wrong? He... He only wanted to protect Antonio, and with the man as worried as he was about him already, he had thought avoiding the topic would help, but looking at the damage he had caused, he felt a terrible pain in his stomach. Antonio didn't deserve to be saddled with someone like him... He didn't deserve to be stuck basically babysitting some klutzy idiot who did nothing but hurt him no matter how hard he tried.

~X~

Elizabeta's eyes darkened with worry as she struggled to get the truck to go fast enough to keep up with the other. What was she missing that was causing such speed from the other vehicle? She relaxed though as break lights flared and they slowed back down to a more comfortable speed. "Don't let us lose anyone today... "She whispered under her breath.

Anxiety tightened her stomach as she turned after the smaller truck onto a road she would have over looked. The road wound on for a ways before she pulled up to what appeared to be an abandoned farmhouse of decent size. "Everyone stay put a bit. I'm going to go see if Gilbert wants to check the house before we let you all in." She instructed, surprised to look back and only find Leon's calm blue eyes. The others were fast asleep.

When the others got out of the car, she unbuckled and got out to meet them, though the smile she had held for her husband slowly faded when she caught sight of a distraught and angry looking Antonio moving to stand in front of the truck, looking at the house. Slowly she turned to look back at Gilbert who had joined her side, eyebrows narrowed. "Gil? Is everything alright?" She asked, her eyes flickering over to where Arthur still sat, hunched over, inside the car. "Is something wrong with..." Before she could finish her question though, they heard Antonio kick the door of the farm house in and turned just in time to see the unarmed Spaniard move inside with dropping shoulders and a hung head.

"Is he suicidal?" Leon muttered under his breath, still in the car with everyone else.

"You ok? Yes... kids ok? Gut... Antonio is... Possibly... possibly suicidal. I'll be right back liebe" Gilbert muttered, kissing Elizabeta on the cheek and rushing into the house after Antonio before he truly heard his wife's answers.

Arthur glanced up at Elizabeta as she moved out of the car, and slowly stepped out into the open. Not looking Elizabeta in the eye, he moved over to the edge of the property and sat in the grass next to it, messaging at his bad shoulder gently. This was all his fault! Honestly he wondered if Antonio would be better off if he just wandered off into the forest and left him to take care of himself like he suggested.

"What's wrong with them?" Eve chirped in confusion from where she sat beside Leon, causing the boy to jump with a start.

Leon watched as Gilbert followed after Antonio, his pale blue eyes expressionless. An idea formed in his head, and while Eliza had told them not to get out, he didn't think there was any immediate danger around the outside. "Eve... Why don't you go talk to Mr. Iggy?" He suggested, carefully getting out of the car with her without waking the Anna, Dexton or Jessie. "He might need a friend right now..."

She waited until she nodded and ran over to him on little legs before he calmly walked to the house, not entirely sure on if that was the smartest thing to do or not.

Eve tugged at Arthur's sleeve, frowning when he didn't look up. "Mr. Iggy? Are you ok?" She asked, her eyes wide with concern. Arthur didn't look up, but he laughed dryly. "No little one...I'm not." He whispered, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Mr. Iggy, why are you crying?" Eve demanded with a pouting frown, hugging the man from the side as he stared down at his hands. When Arthur didn't answer Eve looked up at Elizabeta in distress looking for answers from the woman a few meters away.

~X~

"Oi! You need to calm down and take a deep breath damn it!" Gilbert growled as he came into the house behind Antonio. "Do you think this is ok? Just... bursting in here on your own, completely unarmed? I'm sorry you're mad. I'm sorry you're hurt, but right now isn't the verdammt time to wallow like some scorned child!" He growled, the sudden burst of adrenaline caused by the man's brash action making him sound irate.

"I was coming to make sure none of the infected were here so we can look at Arthur's shoulder!" Antonio protested in his defense, eyes widening in shock at Gilbert's anger for a minute before narrowing as his own anger, already bubbling inside mixed with his hurt, raised in defense and challenge.

Grabbing onto Antonio and slamming him into a wall, Gilbert looked the Spaniard dead in the eye, expression both firm and angry. "And if those things were in here no one would have gotten to you fast enough to save your sorry ass! Suck it up! He didn't want to worry you, so he played his injury off!" He snapped, completely understanding where Arthur had come from; he had done the same thing himself multiple times.

Antonio growled and glared at Gilbert, more than a little angry by being pushed around. "This isn't some little injury he should be playing off! It is a _huge _problem that could get him killed!" The Spaniard roared, shoving Gilbert back in response to the previous physical contact.

"_Listen to me_!" Gilbert roared, thrusting him back again and holding the man a good few inches off the ground. "You are treating me like shit for trying to help and Arthur like an insolent child. I will _not _put up for this shit! I know you're mad at Arthur... Hell, I'm mad at him too, but damn it... We do not have time for you to be sulking around like a jilted lover! He made a mistake! So sue him! If you haven't noticed, it's been a rough couple of days for all of us! Instead of sitting in here, being a reckless moron, why dont you go _talk_ to him?! Figure out _why_ he lied to you! Right now...if something was to happen to Arthur and you were just sitting in here angry... How would you feel?! You don't have time to be mad at him! I'm sorry, but it's true! We cannot sit around and _sulk_ all day like we used to be able to do! This is the God damn _apocalypse,_ you hot headed idiot, and I swear to _Gott_ if you put my wife or those kids at risk pulling stupid ass stunts like that again, I will personally kick your ass." The albino snarled furiously, his grip tightening little by little on Antonio.

"Don't pull that damn noble shit on me, puto! I don't care how self-sacrificing you are, si? That doesn't impress me, nor does it make me want to listen to you. Especially not while you are insulting me for being hurt over the fact the person I _love _hid something from me that could prove fatal for him in this apocalypse! I think no matter how you try to lead, you are stupid and irresponsible because you're just like Arthur! Hiding your pain from everyone, not really wanting to let other people help you. You want to talk about sulking? Don't even get me started! You didn't see what you did to your wife, shutting her out and being an ass to her for days when all she wanted to do was help! Your brother died! You are allowed to feel pain!" Antonio spat right back, his verdant eyes glittering in anger.

"I'm not as patient as your wife. I'm tired of being pushed away and lied to. I've had to put up with it all my life already, being pushed away for who I am, and the one time where honest is actually important in saving everyone's lives, the only person in this world that I actually felt I could trust completely tried to shut me out and lied to me. So sí. I am a little pissed and rather hurt, and rightfully so. Stop being such a hypocritical ass, and put me down. I don't particularly want to hurt you, but I will if I have to." He growled through gritted teeth, trying very very hard not to take his anger out on Gilbert.

Gilbert's eyes narrowed dangerously at the man's words, quivering with rage, he slammed the man against the wall again and snarled furiously. "My wife and I have already sorted that out... I apologized and we moved _on_. I don't know if you've ever lost someone you were that close with, and I can't say how you would deal with it, but that was how I dealt with it! I'm sorry if that's not how _you_ would have dealt with it!" He spat, his crimson eyes absolutely livid, mirroring Antonio's in all but color.

"What happened those days I feel extreme regret for... but I can't change that. I'm trying to give _you_ the chance to fix what you are about to ruin. Arthur loves you, and I don't know why he hid his injury, but if I had to guess, it was probably because he didn't want you to worry about him! He's a _mess_ without you caring for him right now, and you threatening to up and leave him? That was cruel. You could have said many things that wouldn't have upset me, but that? That was _low_. He hissed, struggling to lower his voice so it wouldn't carry outside.

"I don't care if you meant it or not...but you don't say that to someone you love. If I said that to my brother, or my wife... Gott I would _never_ forgive myself!" He couldn't even comprehend saying that to his Eliza, and there were times they had been at each other's throats in the past. His brother too...

Antonio knew he shouldn't have said he'd leave. Not to Arthur. He had just felt so hurt by what Arthur had done with denying he needed help and was injured he had said words without thinking. Of course he never meant them! His heart lay in scattered ruins inside his chest, broken and crying, wanting to pull itself back together but not knowing how, and the knowledge he had hurt his Arthur only worsened the bitterness.

You always having to protect everyone don't you... Well why don't you go ask your brother how well that worked?" He bit out, completely not thinking until it was far too late and the words had already left and were hanging in the air like a time bomb. His eyes widened in sheer horror at what he had said and he looked away, ashamed, already scrambling to take the words back. "Hay Dios Mio Gilbert... Lo siento... That was cruel of me! I didn't mean it. Lo siento..." But the damage had been done and Antonio knew it with the way Gilbert's face screwed up as if he had been punched in the stomach.

Gilbert's hand dropped away from Antonio with a stunned look on his face. Lowering his gaze, he bit his lip fiercely and felt tears prick at his eyes that he couldn't keep from streaming down his pigment lacking cheeks. Snarling suddenly, he lashed out, slamming his fist into Antonio's jaw with enough force to send the man sprawling. "You can say whatever you want about me, verdammt bastard, but you leave _MEIN BRUDER OUT OF THIS_!" He all but screamed, lifting Antonio off the ground with a startling amount of strength, and tossing him aside again, his compact, hard muscled body radiating fury.

"Damn you! You son of a bitch! I could kill you for what you said!" He roared his lip quivering as tears streamed down his face. Shuddering, he stumbled back, spitting on the floor and charging from the house nearly running into Leon as he did.

"I...Leon...what...I..." Gilbert stammered before shaking his head, turning around and stalking over to the opposite side of the house, shouting and cursing as he stalked back and forward knowing if he went to face Antonio now he would kill him without a second thought.

Antonio stayed where Gilbert had thrown him, feeling completely, miserably wretched. He had definitely _not_ meant that. Not at all! Not in any way shape or form. Gilbert had every right to be furious with him! Arthur too... They both had every right o drive him away. To hate him. Kill him even. There was no question in his mind that he deserved everyone's fury.

Blood dribbled from his mouth from when Gilbert hit him in the jaw, and hi back stung furiously both from the infected claw marks and being slammed around. The physical pains didn't compare to that in his heart. What kind of person was he to blatantly say he'd leave the one he loved? Or to drive a friend to tears and having death threats hurled at him?

Miserable and hating himself he just laid there until he got the idea that... Maybe he should just go? Gilbert certainly wouldn't want him around. Eliza either once she heard what he had said. Even the kids would probably hate him after this. Leon would understand Gilbert's reaction with how similar he was to the albino man, and it was already clear that anyone Leon disliked the others would follow suit... But their hatred he could live with easily enough... It was Arthur's he was most sickened by and afraid of.

Surely his Englishman would hate him after this? Yes... Leaving to save everyone the trouble would be best... With a grunt of pain he pulled himself to his feet and crept out the back door, careful to avoid Gilbert and Leon as he went. Maybe if he'd get lucky, he'd just die right there in the trees behind the farmhouse.

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**There we are then! Review even though it was really late? :D **


	11. Chapter 11

**Update time! **

**Warnings: Angst and cuteness. Easy chapter this time guys!**

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Leon followed after Gilbert hesitantly as the albino retreated to the far edge of the house, mind whirring with all he had overheard from their nasty exchange. As the demon eyed Gilbert paced furiously he gathered the words he was looking for and stepped in front of the infuriated man calmly.

"Calm down Gilbert. Calm down... Easy. Don't get more worked up by pacing..." He started, voice firm and calm. Maybe he was out of line for meddling in adult affairs, but something inside told him to try to bring comfort to the man.

"Look... From the sounds of it... I doubt Mr. Tonio meant what he said. Now that doesn't make it right in the slightest. It doesn't. I would be just as angry, believe me, but you got to remember, you're better than that, ja? He just doesn't understand how close you were to your brother. He doesn't get it... Think of how bad you'd feel after you beat him up or... killed him?" The young German paused, nt truly believing Gilbert would have followed through with his threat.

Gilbert continued to seethe for a bit, but after a while, he forced himself to calm down and listen to the boy. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he sat on the ground with a small despondent sob. Antonio had brought up emotions he had struggled to repress so desperately. The feeling of grief at failing his brother stabbed into his heart as he stifled his sob with a shudder.

"I...I know. I wouldn't...I wasn't going to kill him." He whispered furiously, wiping at his eyes to rid them of the building tears. "Though... I probably should have hit him a couple more times." He muttered bitterly, leaning against the fence post with a shuddering sigh. "I...I didn't..." But he trailed off and just shook his head, running pigment lacking fingers through his silvery hair.

"Don't wipe them away..." Leon protested, looking at him sympathetically. "Sometimes it's better to just cry... Just let it out. Otherwise stuff like this happens and you do things you don't really mean to... No one is here but me anyway, and who do I have to tell you aren't as invincible as you seem? The kids look up to you... Even more so than they do me... And while that stings a bit, it just goes to show they think you can keep them safe. I'm not going to shake that absolute faith they all have by pointing out you are human too." He promised quietly, looking away out of respect as the older man tried to calm back down and collect himself.

Gilbert chuckled and nodded softly looking up at the boy and wiping the tears from his eyes despite the suggestion. "Danke Leon...you're pretty wise for a boy your age." He whispered with a laugh, wiping at his eyes again and sighing heavily. "I...suppose I should apologize to him after he cools off. Be the better man you know." He muttered, sitting on the ground and patting the space beside him with a small smile.

"It's what happens when you have a brother to watch for." Leon said with a modest shrug, sitting beside Gilbert with a soft sigh. The praise made him squirm a bit, uncomfortable with being looked at as something special.

"It might be smart to apologize to him, even though it wasn't you who did anything wrong necessarily. Sure hitting him was probably not something you needed to do, but hey. He was asking for it. Apologizing would be smart." He agreed, a small smile forming on his face.

"Sometimes I wonder which one of us is the adult here." Gilbert chuckled softly, leaning against the boy and ruffling his hair teasingly. Leon held a wisdom beyond his years that some never achieved, and the quiet presence of the boy was comforting in its own way. "You're smart kid. I need to listen to you more often." He pointed out, peering up at the sky with a small groan of resignation. "I'll apologize shortly...give the man a chance to calm down."

"We had this conversation earlier I thought. I don't want to be and adult Gilbert... But someone needed to talk reason into one of you before you killed each other." Leon protested with a small smile. "I just want to be Leon. Nothing else."

Gilbert smiled over at Leon, and was going to answer when he heard the back door to the house bang shut. Had Antonio gone mad? Heart jumping sporadically in his chest, he got to his feet, eyes narrowed in concern. "Leon go stand with the kids ok?" He commanded, thankful the boy listened without question as he raced inside to find the house deserted. "Gott...Antonio what did you do?"

Elizabeta came to sit beside Arthur, waving Eve away with a stern look that stopped the young girl from protesting. "Alright dear... What's wrong?" She asked, pulling Arthur to her in a rather motherly way as she ran gently fingers through his tangled blond hair.

Arthur winced as Elizabeta touched his bad shoulder and flinched away unintentionally. Not missing the flash of confusion that reached her hazel eyes, he reached up shakily, and tugged down his shirt to reveal the bandages wound around his swollen shoulder.

"I didn't tell him...I didn't want anyone to know! I was just going to...I was just going to deal with it myself." He choked out in answer, shaking his head. "It's broken...I didn't say anything because...I didn't want to upset you or worry Antonio or...God...he said...he told me he would leave me if I...I didn't mean to upset him... God He must hate me." He whimpered softly, pressing into the brunette haired woman with a shudder.

Elizabeta's eyes widened as she looked at his bandaged shoulder in shock. She had thought she had hit him rather hard! "Oh my! I knew I had done more damage than you had let on! I'm so sorry dear!" She gasped with bright, apologetic eyes. How stupid of her to hit before really seeing, zombie apocalypse or not! His next words brought her up short from her fretting though, and her hazel eyes brimmed with sympathy.

"He said he'd leave? Hmmm... Well, I'm not a boy, but that sounds like pain talking to me... I doubt he hates you... I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone look at another person with more love in their eyes than the way you two look at each other... Just give him a bit to calm down and go talk to him... If he loves you as much as it looks like he does and as much he says he does, he'll listen. Don't fret dear. Don't you fret for a second. He was probably just worried about you. Goodness knows Gilbert's over reacted a time or two..." She assured, a gentle smile on her face as she looked down on him.

"I...I lied to him. He looked at me like...like I had killed him." Arthur whispered leaning against Elizabeta with a soft choked sob. Her reassurance did little to stop the self-loathing he was feeling. "I couldn't...I mean...I should have trusted him, but I was so afraid that he would worry about me and end up getting himself killed!" He wailed, resting his face in his hands with a terrible shudder.

"I love him so much...but he...his eyes were so angry and hurt. I felt like...he wanted me to just leave right then. To just go before I hurt him again." His voice was hardly a whisper then, fear that what he had thought was true robbing his voice.

Elizabeta frowned and clucked her tongue sympathetically, eyes soft. "I see... that hurts... finding out the people you trust the most lied to you, even if it was for good reason. You should trust him... Even if you think it'll worry him, because then you find yourself in a situation like this and you realize you hurt him instead of saved him from worry... I don't think he wanted you to leave... I still am sticking firmly to the belief that he loves you, and that you love him." Everything about what she said was firm, if not gently chastising, but she spoke in way that made it clear she was trying to be understanding from both sides.

Arthur looked positively ashamed knowing that he had hurt Antonio in a way he wasn't sure he could fix. Biting his lip, he lowered his gaze and shuddered, a few stray tears rolling down his cheeks. "I have to apologize...this is all my fault. I _need_ to apologize." He whispered with a new found determination, staggering to his feet despite any objections from Elizabeta.

Rushing into the house, he threw open the door. "Antonio?" He called. Receiving no answer, he felt a pang of guilt fill his chest. "Antonio please… I just want to apologize." He begged, moving into the bedrooms and feeling a small prick of panic when he didn't spot him there either. "Antonio? Antonio! Are you in here, love?" He called, rushing around the house. Dread seeped slowly into his veins. Where was his Spaniard?

Bursting out the back door, he looked around in confused panic. "Antonio?!" He cried, feeling the dread strengthen as it well up inside of him. He actually did it. He left. He was so mad that...that he left. He abandoned him. Shuddering, Arthur staggered towards the tree line with a small wail of distress. "Antonio please! I'm sorry! Come back! _Please_!"

Elizabeta got up and rushed after him as the distraught Englishman began to wail and cry out loudly for the missing Spaniard, feeling sick to her stomach at what she'd find. "Arthur? Arthur dear you have to stop yelling! If any of them hear you, they'll be all over this place." She whispered to him in a rush, eyes frantic.

As Arthur fell silent he leaned heavily into her and started to shiver violently, all the while muttering "Antonio… Love come back…"

Antonio wandered far enough away from the house that the others wouldn't be able to hear his ragged sobs of pain and anger as he lashed out at a tree, the bark cutting gashes into the soft skin of his knuckles, leaving blood to dribble freely down his tanned, shuddering fingertips. His heart and very being already felt empty without Arthur there beside him. How had he survived alone all those years? Arthur hadn't been his for very long at all and already the damage was done.

"Arthur I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." He whispered to the air with heart wrenching dejection. Maybe he could just go back... Just make sure Arthur hated him for being so overbearing with his injury and hurt by his lies.

Through his devastated musing, the Spaniard couldn't hear Arthur's shouts for him. Why had he done the things he had and said the things he said! That was all he could think of as he felt wave after wave of self-hating and longing roll through him painfully.

"Arthur... Arthur I'm sorry..." He whispered as he sunk to his knees and then to his side, curling around himself in the damp leafy compost that covered the ground. He just felt numb, trying hard to remember everyone probably hated him and not to go back. If he could just die now... Just right there... No one would have to worry about him being a jerk any more. Why couldn't he fade away, just fade into nothing into the very earth?

His eyes were closed as he lay there, breathing in the scent of decomposing, moist earth. The scent was calming as it reminded him of his tomato plants back in Spain at his Mamá's house. He repeatedly, almost obsessively, ran his fingers through the cool earth, trying hard to not think of Arthur and about his tomatoes instead, but finding the harder he tried to distract himself, the more he couldn't get Arthur from his head. Why did love hurt so badly?

"I have to find him! Let me go!" Arthur sobbed, trashing against the surprisingly strong Hungarian's hold with his good arm. "He'll die on his own! I can't let him die, Elizabeta please!" He begged desperately, only to let out a furious cry as Gilbert scooped him up from behind and clamped a hand over his mouth. The demon eyed man had nuck up on the both of them, his crimson eyes flashing with his command before it was even voiced.

"Gott verdammt, you two have managed to give me the biggest headache today! Arthur stop squirming before you hurt yourself." He barked, digging deep for patience as he turned toward his wife.

"Elizabeta what happened?" He demanded, glancing towards the trees that Arthur was straining to reach so desperately. Of course, he already suspected.

Elizabeta shook her head, feeling powerless to help the thrashing, desperate man. "I don't know... I... I think Antonio might have left. We were talking, Arthur got up to talk to Antonio once he calmed down, and the next thing I know his shouting and freaking out." She explained, her hazel eyes sympathetic and concerned.

"I knew the damn bastard was mad, but abandoning Arthur? Gott..." Gilbert lowered his gaze onto the thrashing Englishman, surprised when the small blond stopped moving.

"I'm sorry Arthur...maybe he just needed to cool down. We'll go look for him la..._Ow_!" Gilbert yelped as Arthur bit down onto his hand furiously, forcing him to drop the Englishman. Before he could grab the smaller man again, Arthur dove into the forest intent on finding Antonio himself at that moment if it killed him.

"Damn it! _Arthur_!" He roared, moving to chase after him, but hesitating. He couldn't just leave the kids and Elizabeta unprotected. "Shit..." He grumbled, drawing his hand close to him. At least the bite hadn't pierced his skin.

Elizabeta wasn't quite giving up yet. "Arthur! Arthur come back!" She pleaded, rushing after him only to stop at the tree line, having lost sight of the man. She whipped around and met Gilbert's eyes with concerned green ones. "What do we do? We can't just leave the kids to go get him... But he'll die on his own. They both will!" She said in a soft, frantic voice.

Gilbert sighed and swore, wrapping Elizabeta in a hug and shaking his head. He knew exactly how she felt. "I...I don't know liebe. I'm sorry, but I really don't know." He murmured, his eyes locked onto the woods sadly.

"Gilbert... Gilbert what if they get hurt?" Elizabeta fretted, eyes frantic. She had grown to like the two men and imagining them hurt upset her tremendously. Shaking her head with a sigh, she rested her head against Gilbert's shoulder. "They'll come back, right?" She whispered softly, not wanting to lose anyone else.

"They will come back." Gilbert insisted, pulling her away from the fence and walking back towards the house. "Come on...sitting here...worrying...it isn't going to accomplish anything." He sighed, taking her hand gently and smiling when he spotted the children.

Leon eyes were carefully controlled as he watched the kids. Eve and Dexton both looked up at him with distraught eyes, not fooled by his collected appearance. "It's ok you two... Mr. Iggy will be fine." He assured ruffling Eve's hair with a forced smile.

"But he's so sad! Why did Mr. Antonio make him sad like that?" Eve demanded with wide, panicked eyes, not buying the older boy's words no matter how reassuring he looked and sounded.

"I don't know Eve... I just don't know." Leon said with a sigh, eyes trained on the house, looking distant and worried. "They'll fix things though, liebling. I'm sure of it." Though he really wasn't sure at all, he couldn't tell Eve that.

"Are you sure bruder?" *Dexton asked softly. Of course he was the one to make Leon's job difficult. "Will they fix it? They seemed pretty upset".

The older German boy bit his lip, beginning to flounder for comforting things to say without lying. "I'm... I think so... They have to fix it..." Leon decided, sounding uncertain as he turned back to watch the house, praying to see Antonio and Arthur come out the door, hand in hand with smiles of love on their faces. The longer he waited, the more restless he grew.

"_Antonio!_" Arthur cried as he stumbled through the trees. Antonio's shoes had left footprints in some areas, but Arthur was no tracker and he quickly lost sight of the prints he had been following so desperately. He was so turned around... How was he supposed to find Antonio now?

"Antonio please! Come back...I'm so...so sorry." He sobbed, feeling distraught and desperate as he clung to the gun in his hands, afraid of what he might find in the trees. "Please...love don't...don't go." He choked out, his tears blurring his eyes as he stumbled forward.

He paused a moment, thinking he heard a soft sob. "A-Antonio?" His voice was hesitant as he called out.

Antonio's head shot up, hearing his name. It was Arthur. It had to be! He almost called back but... What if Arthur was upset with him? He didn't want to face his Englishman when he had been so terrible to him! "Arthur... Arthur I can't... I'm sorry." He mumbled, burying his face in his hands.

Arthur shivered as the trees were silent around him, but he knew he had heard something, and he wasn't giving up. What if it was his Spaniard? "Antonio? Love please... I need you... You'll get hurt on your own! I-I'm sorry..."

Nothing.

"Antonio..." Arthur's voice broke as he tried to see through the trees, shivers rolling through him. Antonio couldn't really be gone...

Listening to how heartbroken the Englishman sounded, Antonio very slowly got up from where he was on the ground and moved in the direction Arthur's voice had come from, finding him easily, facing the wrong direction. With a weak, wobbly smile, he hugged Arthur to him as tight as he dared, not even bothering to try to conceal his tears. "I don't know why you're apologizing... I'm the one who should be sorry... I never should have gotten angry with you..." He trailed off, eyes filling with terror and panic as he looked down at Arthur when the blond jumped at his sudden presence.

"I understand if you're upset with me and hate me... I'll go away! Really I will... If that's what you want at least..." His heart pounded furiously in his chest as he suggested the words even though every part of him screamed to take them back and say he'd never leave, even if Arthur did hate him. "I love you enough that... that if that's what you want, I'll go..."

"No...please...don't leave me." Arthur whispered his protest, afraid his voice would break if he spoke with any sort of volume. Turning, he rested his shoulder on Antonio's shoulder, drinking in his familiar, spicey scent greedily. "Please! I can't bear the thought of losing you..." He choked out, shuddering violently as he pulled the man closer to him desperately, afraid that if he let go Antonio would leave him again

"I love you so much Antonio... I wasn't mad that you were angry at me, or that you were upset... I was terrified that you were going to leave me. Just like that..." His voice pleaded with Antonio to believe him.

"I never should have told you I'd leave… That was wrong of me, and I didn't mean it… Even now I only left because I was afraid you hated me..." Antonio explained, closing his eyes as he pulled Arthur impossibly closer.

"I won't leave you unless you tell me to go... Because I love you. I was just afraid that you... and all the others too... would hate me." He repeated, shuddering in Arthur's arms

Arthur shook his head insistently and backed away from Antonio with wide emerald eyes, his hands holding onto the dejected, shuddering Spaniard's arms tightly. "Never...I could _never_ hate you. Do you hear me, Anthony? I will never hate you." He insisted, his gaze absolutely sincere. "I would never want you to leave… and I will never hate you."

Antonio felt his shattered heart mend itself as he met Arthur's gaze, everything feeling right in his world once more. Arthur's words brought tears to his eyes. "Prometo, amor? You promise?" He whispered, his fear slowly fading from his eyes as he found no trace of a lie in the blonde's eyes.

"I promise Antonio. I promise that I will never hate you." Arthur insisted calmly, his eyes still leaking with tears. "Just promise that you will never leave me." He whispered, reaching up and wiping a tear off of Antonio's face.

Antonio kissed away the tears streaming down Arthur's cheeks, relief written in every inch of his body. "I promise I will never leave you, Arturo. Never."

Arthur smiled softly and let another relieved sob break through his lips as he threw his good arm around Antonio's neck and kissed him fiercely. "Don't you ever do that again. I don't care how mad you are, or how upset you think I am with you. If you ever run off again like that, I am going to handcuff you to me so you can't run off." He muttered into the kiss, his eyes a mixture of relief, happiness, and repressed irritation.

Antonio laughed softly, the sound a bit weak and uncertain after having just been so completely crushed, and kissed him back, reassuring Arthur where words failed to do so. "I will never leave you. You are literally my world now, amor... I think I'd die rather quickly without you."

"Good...because I would die without you as well." Arthur murmured, kissing his cheek gently and closing his eyes with a small shudder. It was all his fault really. He shouldn't have hid his injury.

"I'm wont hide anything from you anymore...I promise." He whispered, tightening his grip around Antonio noticeably.

"I'd rather you didn't, sí... I know the whole point was to not worry me... but I'd rather know... I already worry about you, and there's nothing that's going to change that." He said softly, tightening his own grip in response with a kiss to the man's temple, just relieved they were together again.

Arthur smiled shakily and nodded, kissing his neck gently. "I'll start now I suppose..." He muttered with a sigh. "My shoulder is killing me to the point I feel nauseous... and I'm exhausted. Can we please go back to the group before they leave without us?" He grumbled, burrowing his nose into Antonio's shoulder and clenching his eyes shut dizzily.

Antonio's eyes, as promised, darkened with worry and concern, but he just simply nodded and kissed the top of Arthur's head affectionately, and led him through the trees with a soft hum.

"Come play with us Leon!" Eve chirped, tossing a ball at Leon with a beaming smile. The younger ones had all grown restless in waiting for Antonio and Arthur, and had found a way to entertain themselves.

Leon sighed and looked at the ball before getting up with a wince, sore and a little battered from the fight with the zombies from earlier. He threw the ball back to Eve with a small smile. Maybe he'd join in a bit...

Eve cheered happily and rushed away with the ball, giggling as Dexton let out a shout of protest and took off after her. "Hey! That's not fair!" He called, charging after the little girl determinedly.

Anna giggled and sprinted after her siblings, faster than them by a long shot. She kicked the ball away from Eve triumphantly and started dancing away with it, teasingly sticking out her tongue. "Fangen sie mich nicht!" The words sounded teasing as she sang them to both Eve and Dexton, unaware of her older sister sneaking up to her from the side. She moved at just the last second, eyes wide at Jessie's sudden appearance, only to have the little blond boy move up on her other side victoriously.

Dexton dove around Anna and stole the ball away with a kick, only to whine as Jessie stole the free ball with a laugh. "Hey!" He protested, chasing after her furiously.

Dexton shot a look at Leon that screamed 'Help the girls are kicking my butt!' and whined as Anna drew circles around him teasingly, growing frustrated he couldn't quite keep the all from the girls as they ganged up on him. "Bruder! Help!"

Leon looked hesitant. He wanted to play but... What if it wasn't the smartest thing? What if they needed to get out of there fast and he couldn't get to the smaller ones fast enough? He sighed, not planning on playing, but then he caught sight of Elizabeta and Gilbert watching them and he bit his lip, rethinking things. Gilbert wouldn't let anything happen to them. He wouldn't... Leon believed that. It brought him up short to realize he trusted the albino man so completely, but deep down it felt right. That didn't mean he trusted the others, but... Gilbert would keep them safe if, for some reason he couldn't. Why not risk the possibility of needing the older man's help and play?

He sprinted athletically over to Dexton and the others, and kicked the ball away from them with a determined expression. Football was his sport. He had been on the team with his school, and missed the game fiercely with the apocalypse. It felt great to have the chance to play again.

"Dexton, keep up, bruder. We'll keep it from them." He promised with a competitive grin as he ran at a considerably slower pace to give his little brother a chance.

Dexton looked stunned at first, but laughed and cheered as he realized his brother was helping him. Chasing after the boy, he stuck his tongue out at Anna and perused his brother, working hard to keep pace with him. "Ja! We're totally going to win this bruder!" He beamed proudly.

"You think you can keep it from them?" Leon asked, passing the ball to his brother and dropping behind him to fend off the girls chasing after them with a laugh.

"Ja!" Dexton beamed, racing around the field with a broad grin barely managing to avoid an attack from Anna when she dove at him from the side. Proud of himself, he cheered happily.

Leon laughed as Anna seemed rather put out that she missed. "Don't give up so easy liebling! How else are you going to learn?" He called to her encouragingly before speeding up to run alongside Dexton, keeping Jessie from trying to get the ball with a grin that left her laughing. "Where's the goal?" He asked, breathing heavily as they continued to run around the yard.

There is no goals! It's keep away!" Eve giggled manically, throwing herself at the ball on her little legs, cauging Dexton to trip. The little four year old giggled again as she ran away with the ball, leaving Dexton to hurry to his feet and rush after her.

Leon laughed as his brother proceeded to chase after Eve with a scowl and sprinted with everything he had to the fence at the other end of the yard, just because he could. Once he reached the worn wooden posts, he sat down with a huff before laying back in the tall grass, breathing heavily, and heart pleasantly fast. Anything to do with football, and he'd play. His pale blue eyes closed and he listened to his heart beat as blood roared through his ears, a content smile on his face.

Not once did he worry about not having his eyes on the kids.

"Gil... You know they're another issue we're going to run into in the future..." Elizabeta said with a strange, thoughtful look on her face as they watched the children play, her worry over Arthur and Antonio slowly fading with the bright giggles of the children filling the air.

Gilbert leaned up against the fence and glanced over at his wife with a confused frown. Caring for the children wasn't going to be an issue at all! Not then, nor in the future. "How so liebe? They're pretty self-sufficient, and as long as we have an eye on them they should be fine." He disagreed slowly, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Feeding them shouldn't be an issue for now... Leon and Jessie are old enough to help us look for food, and as far as we've been able to tell, most houses are pretty well stocked in this area." He continued as his wife laughed quietly, a little bewildered at what was so funny.

Elizabeta smiled and shook her head, rolling her eyes. "I was referring to the fact that they're parentless. And if this thing ends… Where are they going to go?" She clarified, looking over at the kids with her heart in her eyes.

"Ja...I suppose you're right." Gilbert murmurred glancing down at Elizabeta with smile when he saw her look at them wth such fondness. "You know...we could always take them in." He pointed out, leaning in and kissing her forehead gently. "I think we'd make pretty good parents, don't you?" His ruby eyes were sparkling as he grinned at her when she turned to face him happily.

"Can we? I think we'd make rather decent parents, and I'd hate for them to go through this together and end up being separated!" Elizabeta said with an excited smile on her face as she hugged her husband tightly.

"Ja...I want to adopt them... But I also want little ones of our own." Gilbert grinned, kissing her cheek with a small laugh at her absolute excitement.

For a moment, Elizabeta's eyes looked startled, but they quickly soften, excited and frightened by the prospect of having their own children. "One day." She agreed. "When we don't have to worry about zombies of course."

"One day...I wouldn't risk a baby in this world. Too many things that could hurt it." He sighed, resting his chin against the top of her head as the returned to watching the kids play.

"If we did have a baby...I would hope it looked more like you." He decided with a grin, his eyes sparkling as Elizabeta giggled quietly.

"That may or may not have been both the sweetest and sappiest thing you've ever said to me, dear." Elizabeta teased, eyes soft as she leaned back into the albino man's chest contently.

"I'm sure I could come up with something that was a hell of a lot sappier." Gilbert grinned, his eyes shining with amusement. "And is it wrong that I want our baby to look like you? You are the most beautiful woman I know." He chuckled, his tone light as he glanced over at the forest, wondering if Arthur and Antonio would be back soon.

"That was sappy too..." The Hungarian teased, turning to kiss his cheek. "But no. I suppose not, though I'd rather have a little Gilbert baby... He'd be so adorable, looking like his father." Eizabeta said with a smile, automatically throwing in her hopes for a little son.

"Mmm...I guess we'd better let her decide. Otherwise we might have some problems making up our mind." Gilbert chuckled, his eyes bright as he imagined a little baby girl running about with the other children, looking just like his wife.

His attention was drawn to the tree line then as he spotted two forms stumble out of the trees. His hand flickered to his gun but quickly he let out a sigh of relief as he recognized the froms as that of Arthur and Antonio, hand in hand and talking to each other softly. "Ah...there they are." He sighed softly, pointing so that Elizabeta could see. "They seem to have made up as well."

"Are you sure there is nothing we can do to try and help?" Antonio asked as they cleared the trees, turning his head for a moment as he heard the sound ofchildren squealing happily.

Arthur grimaced as he followed after Antonio slowly, his head swimming a minute now that his adrenaline had faded. "I don't know what you could do... I need a cast, but we can't afford me being restricted like that, never mind the fact we would hardly be able to find a doctor. Other than that... the pain is the worst problem, and I can't take anything stronger than the pain pills we have because, well... You don't want me to be any less alert than I am, love." He sighed, squeezing Antonio's hand gently when they stepped over the fence a little ways from where Gilbert and Elizabeta stood.

Elizabeta glanced over at them and a broad smile of relief spread across her face as she waved at them. "There you two are! We were starting to think you two wouldn't come back! Everything ok, dears?" She asked as they drew closer, tone friendly and relieved.

Antonio glanced warily at Gilbert, not entirely sure where they stood at this point, and when he turned back to Arthur a slight frown was on his face. "Maybe try putting something cold on it? I don't know much about injuries... Suffered plenty of my own out of my clumsiness, but I don't know how to treat them..." He said with a sigh, still holding onto Arthur's hand.

"Yes...we can go put something cold on it when we rest for a bit." Arthur relented, not so sure it would help but figuring it wouldn't hurt.

"We're fine...thank you Elizabeta." Arthur sighed as he addressed the woman, smiling shakily at her and leaning against Antonio with a small shudder. "I suppose I need to apologize for biting you Gilbert." He grinned sheepishly, earning a small chuckle from the albino and a surprised look from his Spaniard.

"Trust me... I've had far worse things try to bite me this week. It's alright, all is forgiven." Gilbert smiled, glancing at Antonio and smiling softly. "Are we gut?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest and quirking an eyebrow. "I think a low blow in exchange for a punch in the face makes us even...how about you?"

"I think so, sí. We're good." Antonio decided slowly, a hesitantly friendly smile on his face as he looked over at Gilbert. In all honesty, he was just glad their albino friend wasn't angry with him for what he had said.

Arthur blinked in surprise. "You punched him?" He demanded, looking concerned as he glanced towards Antonio, whose cheek was slightly discolored now that he could examine him in a better light.

Antonio smiled a bit as Arthur gently feathered his fingers over his bruised jaw. "Sí. I deserved it though... What do you think Gilbert? Amigos?" He asked with a smile.

Elizabeta looked just as startled and concerned as Arthur. Had they both missed something? "What on earth are you talking about Gil?" She demanded, looking fiercely from one man to the next.

"Freunde." Gilbert chuckled, reaching out and grabbing Antonio's hand, shaking it firmly.

"Good." Antonio said, shaking Gilbert's hand with a smile.

Glancing over at Elizabeta, Gilbert shrugged and smiled sheepishly, hesitantly meeting her eyes. "Boys will be boys?" He attempted, not particularly wanting to explain their fight if he didn't have too.

He was saved by a high pitched squeal; Eve had spotted Arthur and Antonio.

"Mr. Iggy!" She cheered, rushing forward and throwing her arms around his waist happily "You scared me! Where did you go?" She demanded her eyes wide and happy despite her accusing words.

"I swear I left you alone for two seconds, and you get punched in the bloody face." Arthur grumbled, rolling his eyes and patting Eve's hair gently. "We're fine lass... There's no need to worry." He insisted when she began pulling at his shirt, begging for attention. "Don't you want to go play?" He asked when she continued staring up at him pointedly.

"Nein...If I do you might wander off again! I gotta make sure you stay where I can see you." Eve announced, her face looking serious even though she earned a small chuckle from the exhausted Englishman.

"I most definitely deserved it, amor. Nothing to worry too much about." He assured, even as Elizabeta raised both her eyebrows, debating on if it was worth the effort to figure out what had happened.

"Boys who are boys will find themselves in time out next time I hear of them hitting each other!" She threatened, sounding motherly and stern as she glared from one delinquent adult to the next and back again.

"I don't think it will happen again, liebe. I promise." Gilbert sighed, leaning forward and kissing his wife's cheek with soft lips which briefly stayed beside her ear. "I'll explain later." He assured her in a whisper, knowing she would ask later anyway.

Antonio laughed, smiling brightly at Elizabeta, then turned to Eve and Arthur. "Eve, mija, don't tug so hard. Mr. Iggy s hurt. You don't want to hurt him, sí?" He asked with a smile at the determination and demanding look on the young girl's face.

"Dare I ask what you did to deserve a punch in the face?" Arthur sighed, struggling to get back to the topic at hand and rubbing his aching temples, glancing down at Eve with a smile. "Oh it's alright Antonio. She isn't hurting me."

Eve suddenly looked very worried at the idea that Arthur was hurt, and immediately reached inside her pocket, pulling out a small bandaid. "Here Iggy! This will make you feel better!" She announced, straining to place the bandaid onto one of the cuts that she could see on his neck.

Chuckling, Arthur knelt down and allowed her to place the floral thing onto his neck, smiling in amusement. Thank you, Eve. I feel much better already." He assured, scooping her up with his good arm. "However, I think it is time to go inside and rest."

Gilbert nodded in agreement just as the rest of the kids ran up to greet Arthur and Antonio, even Leon. "Inside everyone. We'll see what we can find for dinner!" He decided, grinning as he was met with a round of excited cheers.

One disaster solved, but with an injured man and a slew of kids, it looked like they were all going to have a hard time staying safe.

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**How'd you guys like it? Reviews are welcome! :D**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! Sorry for being late recently... We are both trying to sort out complications with school and work and life... Expect the late updates for a couple weeks more and then we will even things back out and update every Saturday again. Sorry! **

**Anyway, here is a nice angst and drama filled chapter for you guys! **

**Warnings: Foul language, fighting, angst, drama**

* * *

The farm house had been great A nice place to rest and regroup for a few days, but it was clear they couldn't stay there and expect to feed nine people for very long. They were all sad to see it go, the relative safety having been comforting to all of them. It was time for the road again though.

They drove the whole day and through the night, time to undo all the rest they had gotten at the house, and just when Gilbert thought he was going to have to either pull over to sleep or switch off with his wife, a military base, marked as an American facility with the United States' flag waving weakly in the breeze, came into view. Gilbert made a beeline to the fortified base, feeling tentative relief at the prospect of another secure place.

The well enforced gates of the American military base were guarded by three well muscled men in tank tops and camo pants. Gilbert couldn't help but feel threatened by the arms that they kept at their sides or the glances that the men shot their way as they pulled up to the gates slowly. Frowning, he glanced behind him to where Dexton, Anna and Leon were sitting silently staring up at the walls of the base with wide eyes.

"Elizabeta...would you mind staying in the car while I talk with them?" He asked quietly, unable to shove down the feeling of unease that was welling up in his chest. For some reason, these men just didn't scream military to him. He was grateful when she nodded without protest.

Stepping out of the truck, he glanced back at Arthur and Antonio, mind briefly thinking about Eve and Jessie who he knew occupied their back seat. Moving up to the two as they stepped out of the car, he sighed. "I don't like this...we should move on." He grumbled, unable to suppress the anxiety in his voice.

Unsurprisingly, Antonio, who wanted nothing more than to find a place for Arthur to rest his arm, shook his head, dashing Gilbert' futile hopes that the Spaniard would reconsider.

Leon raised an eyebrow as Gilbert got out alone and met up with Arthur and Antonio. His heart thundered in his chest, and he wasn't sure why. Maybe because Gilbert thought something was up? Wordlessly, he slipped out of the truck and jogged over behind Gilbert, bat in hand. To his surprise, Elizabeta didn't protest his actions.

"I'm... open to leaving, but why? They ask you to continue on?" Antonio asked, his heart sinking in his chest when he saw the anxiety flash in his albino friend's eyes when he had shaken his head. Arthur needed rest! He didn't want to have to keep going unless they absolutely had to.

"Nein...I haven't talked to them." Gilbert muttered, glancing at Leon in concern, wishing he had stayed in the truck. "I...just don't like this." He admitted, his eyes flickering towards the guards momentarily.

"What? Why? Did you even talk to them? I'm exhausted too...but I'm not jumping to conclusions!" Arthur snapped looking exhausted. His shoulder ached furiously from sitting in the truck for as long as he had. He had been hopeful with the sight of the military base too, and now that it looked like they might not stay, bitter disappointment welled inside of him.

Leon was completely startled by Arthur's irritated tone, never having seen him short before. They all were tired... But, if Gilbert didn't think it was safe to stop, shouldn't they move on and find somewhere else? The feeling the men at the gates gave off was disheartening and sent chills of warning and alarm through him... He could hardly blame Gilbert for wanting to get out of there.

Antonio sighed and looked thoughtful, frowning slightly. He understood Gilbert's caution, even if he disagreed with not even trying to talk to the men. "Well... I think it's at least worth talking to them. If they decide they don't want us here, we'll move on, sí? Find somewhere else... What do you think Gil? Sound like a plan? *He asked, glancing at the armed men with cautious optimism.

"Ja..." Gilbert begrudgingly sighed. "It sounds like a plan."

Before they moved he turned towards Leon, clasping his shoulder with a firm hand and leaning in a bit, eyes serious. "You keep behind me alright? Something seems fishy and you get the hell out of there. Do you understand?" He whispered insistently, his eyes serious and tone commanding. He didn't drop his eyes from Leon's until the boy nodded slowly.

"I have a job, just like you Gilbert. Something bad happens, I'll leave... But only when you are right there with me." Leon compromised calmly, his pale blue eyes meeting Gilbert's crimson ones, not entirely challenging, but firm, not bothered by Gilbert's command on the outside, but on the inside he wanted to be able to listen.

"Nein. In this case, someone needs to keep the girls and your brother safe. If things go to hell, you haul your ass back to the truck, and that is an order Leon." Gilbert barked in a way that invited absolutely no argument, his eyes serious and fiercely paternal. As much as he despised forcing his will on the headstrong German boy, he would not waiver on this fact, and Leon needed to know that he was lucky to be allowed to come at all, let alone stay if something happened.

Leon didn't respond to the command. He simply bowed his head in submission, knowing he'd anger Gilbert if he refuted his orders a second time.

"Then we're settled...let's go." Arthur insisted once the conversation was over, flinching as he tweaked his shoulder a bit. He turned to lead the way, tired of just standing there, when Antonio rested a hand on his good shoulder, holding him back.

"Oh no. You're staying right there. You're hurt and tired. We're just talking, sí? We'll be fine." Antonio assured, gaze resting unwaveringly on Arthur, verdant eyes full of concern.

"No." Arthur glared, his eyes flashing determinedly. "I'm coming with you, Antonio. If Gilbert is right, I do not want... Ah..." He swore as he stepped away from Antonio and swayed a bit. "God damn it all to hell..." He rasped, holding onto the door of the truck and growling as a wave of sudden nausea took ahold of him.

He sighed, knowing arguing further was pointless. "Fine...but if you get hurt I'm going to kill you my damned self, Anthony." He grumbled, getting back into the truck and resting his head in his hands dizzily.

"Let's go Antonio." Gilbert called as he and Leon moved towards the guards, muscles tensed should things go wrong. Sighing, he lifted his hands to show he wasn't armed...at the moment.

"Hallo! Sprechen Sie Englisch?" He called out as they approached, attempting to look as calm as he could while still managing to appear a danger if provoked.

The guard closest to Gilbert trained his gun on the man's chest, eyes cold. "Yes. Who are you, and what is your business here? We don't much care for people that aren't... military affiliated." He growled, sounding official enough, though his accent was far from American.

"The name's Beilschimdt... I'm here with my group..." He chose purposefully not to say family in order to make it sound like they had more people, possibly burly German men, waiting in the two trucks whose windows were so darkly tinted it was hard to tell their contents. He didn't like it. These men weren't Americans. They weren't even German! If anything they sounded as if they were from Bulgaria.

He continued slowly, more cautious than before, If such a thing was possible. "...and we were hoping that you could let us speak with the _American_ leading officer of this base." He said assertively, his eyes warily regarding the armed men, but managing to remain calm.

The men behind the man who spoke first snorted, sounding almost amused by the request. "Ya hear that? He wants to talk with an American! How do you know we aren't American, Gil?" One snorted, a mean looking man with a great scar on his cheek that truly made the smirk on his face almost grotesque.

Leon's head snapped up as the second man spoke and he drew closer to Gilbert, heart racing in his chest all of the sudden, a nauseating feeling in his stomach. How did the man know who Gilbert was? "Er wusste Ihren Namen" He whispered, almost more a breath than an actual whisper, his hands tightening around his bat.

"Well, for one, amigos... You don't sound American in the slightest" Antonio said, raising an eyebrow curiously, also having caught the fact the one man had said Gilbert's name.

The first man laughed, the sound rather chilling. "The Americans eh? Sure. We can take you to the Americans... They're out in the trees somewhere rotting... I mean, waiting for stupid people like you to try to find a safe haven." He sneered, eyes bright with some suppressed excitement. "They make a great meat shield really... Keeps the flesh eaters off of us with the stench of decay... Perfection."

Something was terribly wrong... These men were psychotic.

"Do I know you gentlemen?" Gilbert demanded, almost nonchalantly. His eyes flickered to Leon for a brief moment, noting the flash of sickness that crossed his usually calm, thoughtful eyes with the man's tale.

"Don't you remember, _Officer_? You arrested us!" The man pointed out, his eyes flashing in fury as he gestured at his companion with a malicious grin. "That didn't last long of course...we got out the moment this started going to hell." He looked positively demented as he returned his full attention to the three people before him.

"What did you do to the Americans?" Gilbert asked, his nerves twitching as his past life… it felt so long ago... came back to haunt him once again. Faint remembrance for the Bulgarian men came flooding back to him. If he remembered correctly, they were nasty pieces of work.

The man sneered and shrugged, looking sorely unimpressed. "They were so nice. Trusting those American's were... Took us in all eager like, hoping for an extra hand... They didn't even put up much of a fight they were so surprised." His tone was conversational as he retold the tale of their brutality.

Gilbert felt his blood chill as he slowly began to move away, his hand reaching out to pull Leon behind him protectively. "Well... It appears that we have no business here..." He started, signaling for Antonio to begin to back away slowly as well.

The man chuckled. "No business? But you said you wanted to see the Americans! We would be so _happy_ to take you to them, Officer." Another demented grin and a round of dark chuckles.

Leon bit the inside of his lip as the man spoke, his pale blue eyes as neutral as he could manage, though he was beginning to think leaving was a very, _very _good idea. With his bat in his hand, he allowed Gilbert to push him further behind him, eyes never leaving the group of armed men.

"Seeing the Americans isn't necessary. We'll leave now, if it is all the same to you." Antonio said firmly, wishing for his ax at that point. A pang of lose shoot through him when he remembered it had been left behind.

The first man took a few steps forward, grinning at the glare he received. "We insist. Wouldn't want to be thought of as poor hosts now would we? Tell me, Gil old friend, who else you got with you?" He asked, poking Gilbert in the chest with the barrel of his gun, only to glance at Leon with narrowed eyes as the boy made a rather angry sound at the contact.

"You training them so young? Smart... They're easier to throw around and corrupt the younger they are. Mindless little soldiers teenagers make." He grinned again as Leon's eyes flashed in indignation.

"Leave the boy alone!" Gilbert snapped furiously, smacking the gun from where it rested against his chest and standing fully in front of Leon with his head raised, crimson eyes demonic in the way they flashed challengingly.

The man shrunk back towards the safety of his partners with the slightest trace of a flinch.

"No one else." He continued with a firm, powerful voice, hoping Elizabeta was smart enough to stay hidden and that Arthur would keep the girls in his care safe. "It's just us three plus the one in the truck you saw." He growled, his voice not wavering in the slightest, making it sound like he was being absolutely truthful.

"It's been us four for a while now... I lost my wife... brother... everyone." He whispered, voice actually quavering with the proper grieving emotions at the admission. He was thanking God for the years he had spent practicing lying under pressure in order to get what he needed for his brother and himself. Hiding a small truth within a big lie was the easiest thing.

"Is that right?" The man growled narrowing his eyes onto Gilbert and frowning when he didn't find any traces of a lie on his face. "Well then... why don't you come with us?" He sneered, stepping aside so that Gilbert and the others could move forward into the base.

"Hold up, hold up... You've lied to us. You walked up and said you were with a group of people. People other than just you three. So... Tell me Gil. You lying about being just you three, or about there being more people?" The first man asked with a knowing grin, catching Gilbert's mistake where the other men had not.

With a sneer, he turned to the man at his side and jerked his head towards the car that contained Arthur and the girls. "I think we should check his truck... If they don't have anyone inside, we can loot for what supplies they've scrapped up."

Antonio shifted his weight back towards his and Arthur's truck slowly, eyes flickering over to Gilbert briefly in alarm. They couldn't go through that truck! Arthur was in there! And Jessie and Eve! Not that he wanted them to search the other vehicle and find Elizabeta and Dexton either... His eyes screamed "what do we do" before he was forced to look away as the men turned to look at them once more.

Leon was apparently thinking something similar. He brushed against Gilbert, a question as to what to do next. He just prayed Gilbert understood what he was asking through the vague, brief contact.

Gilbert didn't have time to protest nor reassure his companions, the flash of fear in his eyes was enough to give him away. The man sneered and nodded at his partner, who let out a low whistle that summoned three more of the well muscled, armed men to their aid.

"I see...I guess we'd better to meet our new friends, huh?" He grinned as the men grabbed onto Antonio when the Spaniard looked ready to lurch at his throat. Placing a gun to the fuming man's head the other men nodded at their boss.

"Listen... You can kill me if you want, but let them go. They have _nothing_ to do with this." Gilbert snarled, moving forward only to yelp as a pair of men grabbed onto him and shoved him to his knees, holding his hands at a painful angle above his head. "Gott verdammt... Let them go!" He growled, looking furious as the men moved up to the car where Arthur and the girls were hiding, his eyes flashing with panic as he glanced at Leon with an apology in his eyes and a silent command to run while he had the chance. This was his fault... He had promised to protect them, and look what was happening!

Leon immediately tried to get back to the other car, actually managing to knock one of the men's guns away from them with his bat before he was forced to his knees as well, left only to stare helplessly at the truck his brother was trapped in. This was not good at all...

Antonio froze, all the muscles in his body taut and ready to fight, but the gun at his head kept him from moving as he watched in frustration. Two men yanked open the front door of their truck, pulling Arthur roughly from inside and pressing a barrel of one of their guns against his back, forcing him forward.

The ring man of the Bulgarians grinned as he watched, only shifting his eyes to glance at Gilbert. "They have everything to do with this. You see... We have a little something against you, Gil. We didn't like being locked up all that much... Think of this as... us returning the favor." He grinned, feigning and apologetic tone as he turned back to his men

"Who else we got in the car?" He barked, rolling his eyes as the three men that were supposed to be checking the truck all were raptured in finding Arthur.

Jessie took Eve into her arms then as she watched Arthur being marched to the others, holding her tightly. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as she desperately wished Leon was with them. He always knew exactly what to do!

"Listen to me, liebling. Get under the car ok? Get under the car and stay there. You'll be safe so long as you stay hiding, ok? Es tut mir liede Eve. I'm so sorry." She whispered, voice frantic. "Go now. Go on." She urged, opening the door pointed away from the men and pushing Eve out, tears in her eyes. She followed as soon as the young girl disappeared under the truck, automatically reaching out to pull her back into her arms once they were both relatively safe.

As the men returned, she held her breath and pressed Eve's face into her shoulder, praying didn't look very hard.

"No one else in this one, boss!" They called, sending heady relief through Jessie's veins. They were safe, but they were trapped.

The ring leader frowned, whipping around to face Gilbert to look for traces of surprise. Finding none he suspiciously glanced at the truck before turning his attention to the one Elizabeta still hid in. "This one next." He commanded, watching as his men scrambled to the other vehicle.

"Anna. Dexton. We're going to run for the trees. Run like you've never run before, as fast as you can. You guys can run, right?" Elizabeta asked as she heard the men approaching, trying her best to stay calm for the two little ones' sakes. She smiled weakly when she was met with two terrified but determined sets of eyes. When they nodded she opened the door slowly, trying not to draw unwaned attention as the men drew closer.

It was only Arthur who seemed to see the Truck door inch open, and as he saw Elizabeta's determined hazel eyes, he began to writhe in desperation. "Let go of me you slack jawed wankers! I'll gut you and spread your filthy rotten intestines out for the damned buzzards if you harm a hair on any of their heads!" He roared furiously in an attempt to draw the men's' attention away from where Elizabeta and the children were escaping, as well as attempting to give Jessie and Eve a chance to get away, wherever it was they had managed to hide.

The man growled at the threat, slamming his gun into Arthur's bad shoulder and looking startled as Arthur nearly crumpled to the ground with a scream of pain that sent everyone's head snapping toward him, his eyes seeing white for a brief moment as he nearly lost consciousness. Eyes watering he looked up at Antonio desperately his eyes wide with agony and terror. At least he had caused the distraction he was going for.

"Hey...what's up with the bandages?" The man holding Arthur demanded, tearing back his shirt and forcing him to his knees when he spotted the gauze. "Boss, I think he might be bit!"

Gilbert growled and shook his head. Ifthey thought Arthur had been bitten, they'd kill him! "He's not! He broke his shoulder! He's isn't bitten!" He cried desperately, his arms burning with a terrible ache at the awkward angle they were at.

"Atorníllela." Antonio thundered, ducking under the gun pressed against his head without warning and rolling to Arthur's side defensively, not that he could do much unarmed against the men. "Vuelve tulipollas!" He snarled, eyes flashing as he spat the Spanish words at the men, hoping to confuse them. "No es mordido, puta!"

Leon tried to keep his eyes on Antonio and Arthur and away from the three forms racing towards the trees as the men were distracted with the immediate threat before them. It was difficult, not watching them, when all he wanted to do was make sure they were safe. Bitter anger swirled inside him as he knelt there, completely defenseless. Gilbert had promised! But... He couldn't truly be mad at the German could he? Deep in his heart though, he knew that he was, even if his anger towards the man was irrational.

"Bitten? Kill him. We don' take any chances." One man said, looking to the ring leader for confirmation of the command.

"Antonio!" Arthur yelped as the Spaniard dove out of the way of the gun, half expecting the man with the weapon to shoot him then and there, but he was either too startled to react or was willing to let Antonio get to his lover knowing he wouldn't get far if he tried to run. Shuddering at the man's words, Arthur balked and looked down at the ground just as Antonio reached his side. This wasn't how it was supposed to end...

"Antonio I love you... If they kill me... please... please get out of here alive." He whispered low enough so that only his Spaniard could hear him.

"Well well...looks like we got a couple on our hands, boss!" The man sneered as he turned his gun onto Arthur with eyes that held little emotion for what he was about to do. He hadn't missed the emotion that burned in both Antonio and Arthur's eyes.

"You sick bastards! Let him _go_!" Gilbert roared, his eyes flashing to Leon's desperately. He had to get the boy out at the very least... No matter what happened to him he had to get the boy out. He had promised him! But that didn't mean he wasn't going to stand up for Arthur as well.

"He isn't bitten! He just broke his shoulder! Bitte just check!" He roared, causing enough of a ruckus to distract Arthur's potential executioner.

"I've told you once I'm never leaving you. If you die here, I do as well." Antonio whispered back once the man above them was distracted, green eyes full of pain. "He's not bit. I swear. His shoulder is broken. That's all. Don't kill him... Por favor..." He said, begging through clenched teeth as he was forced to swallow his pride to try to keep his Englishman alive.

Leon allowed his eyes to flicker away from Antonio and Arthur as the gun was lowered from Arthur's chest, and over to the three forms. They were nearly to the trees... and then his heart stopped as Dexton tripped, skidding on his hands as he fell to the ground with a sharp yelp as grit cut open his palms.

"_Nein_! Get up! Dexton get back up _now!_" He shouted, unable to help himself as tears of terror pricked his eyes. Yelling didn't matter in the end anyway, as the young German boy's yelp of pain and surprise had already drawn two of the Bulgarians' attention.

Elizabeta hadn't even realized Dexton had tripped until after her and Anna were already in the forest. She told the small girl to hide in a clump of bushes, but by the time she turned back to help, there were already people hustling toward the fallen boy who was scrambling to get to his feet, knees and palms bleeding.

Bringing his attention back to the couple at hand, one of the previously distracted men smirked. "What are you going to do to stop me?" He sneered, leaning down and grabbing onto Arthur, pulling him rather roughly away from Antonio as another man grabbed onto the Spaniard from behind and placed him into a headlock.

Pressing the gun up against Arthur's temple, he grinned, his eyes dancing with amusement. It seemed the prospect of playing around with his victim was more interesting than killing Arthur outright. "Come on...what will out do to keep your...what is he? Your lover?" When Antonio seethed and glared lividly at his Englishman's captor, the man laughed chillingly. "Ah...he is isn't he? Oh this is very interesting indeed!" He tauntingly fingered the trigger, all the while locking keeping his on Antonio, not wanting to miss a single flinch or flash of rage from the man.

Antonio froze, eyes locked murderously on the man holding a gun to his Arthur's head. He didn't dare move this time, fearing if he did it would cost Arthur his life. Tears pricked his eyes, though he furiously blinked them back, shuddering violently. "No... No please. Please don't. Kill me. Kill me if that is what you are looking for. Por favor... Don't kill him. What does it matter if he is my lover or not? Don't kill him..." He whispered, the sound choked as he used precious air to speak, struggling to breathe with the arm around his neck constricting his air flow.

"Oh it matters... because you'll try so much harder to save him if he is your lover than if he was just a friend." The man grinned, tightening his hold on Arthur and squeezing his bad shoulder fiercely, earning a small yelp of pain from the Englishman. "It'll be entertaining to watch, the struggle as you fight and strain to keep him alive just a few more minutes...hoping that if you get the opportunity that you'll be able to protect him."

Arthur scowled up at the man and growled softly, wishing there was something he could do to protect himself and his Spaniard. "Damn you...you sick bastard."

Before the man could respond though, a surprisingly vicious snarl rolled up from Leon's chest, efficiently distracting both of the men's captors.

The older German boy thrashed and twisted, gouging his knees as he desperately struggled to get to his brother, furious German spewing from his mouth in angry shouts as the man keeping him to the ground struggled to hold him still.

Gilbert too snarled furiously at the men, but jumped when he heard Leon shouting. Turning, he felt his eyes widen noticeably when he spotted Dexton, the three men that had ran to him surrounded him. One had his gun raised as he shouted towards the boy ordering him not to move or he would shoot him. He suddenly understood Leon's desperate attempts at fighting. While he felt pride well inside at the boy's spirit, glad the Bulgarians had under estimated him, he was far too concerned for Dexton's safety to let the pride show through.

"Nein... _Let him go_!" Gilbert roared desperately, shuddering with fury and grief. He tried to thrash and writhe as Leon was, but with his arms near hyper extended, he couldn't move without risking popping his shoulders out of socket, and then he'd be absolutely no use to any of his friends or family.

"He's just a _kid_! Let him go!" He begged, tears forming in his eyes as the man with the gun out pushed Dexton to the ground with a harsh snarl to move towards the others. "Kill me! Maim me! Torture _me_! But let the others go! _Bitte_!" He snarled, turning to the ring leader with eyes that looked as though he had broken inside. The devastation he felt only strengthened as Leon was forced onto his chest on the ground after punching his captor in the face. Though he still writhed about, he wasn't getting anywhere any faster than the rest of them as a gun was pressed firmly against his back.

"_I WILL KILL YOU_!" Leon growled as he watched his baby brother get knocked to the ground a second time by the men, terror coursing through him and tears of absolute fury rolling down his cheeks. "Dexton!" He cried, sounding devastated. They never had this issue on their own! No one tried to kill them! Not anyone who was living! He bristled angrily as he was sat back up, gun still against his back.

"Don't worry. We'll get around to killing you, Gil. That much I can promise... but why not hurt you by hurting them first?" One man said as they approached with a terrified Dexton in front of them.

As soon as the men stopped, Dexton scrambled over to his brother and threw his arms around his neck with a small terrified sob, shaking so badly it was a surprise his teeth weren't rattling. Even when his brother's arms wrapped around him protectively he shuddered in fear.

Dexton looked up at his brother with terrified eyes not understand why what was happening, was happening. "Bruder... I'm scared." he squeaked softly, his voice low enough that only Leon heard him.

Leon frowned at his brother, meeting the small boy's terrified eyes with his, trying to stay calm when his own fear was overpowering. "Listen to me. I won't let them hurt you. I won't. They'll have to kill me before I let them touch you." He whispered as soothingly as he could manage.

"I don't want you to die either!" Dexton sobbed, his eyes streaming with tears as he clutched desperately to his brother.

"I'm not saying I'm going to bruder, only if it is the only way to keep you safe. You know I don't want to leave you all alone... Ich liebe dich." Leon whispered, eyes clouded with grief at his brother's sobs. He hated that he couldn't quell the little boy's fears.

"Bitte...don't leave me." Dexton begged, his eyes wide with terror at the idea. "Ich liebe dich auch! You can't leave me!"

"I'm not going anywhere Dexton. Ok? I'm right here... Don't cry bruder. Don't cry. Everything will be ok." Leon sighed soothingly, wanting nothing more than to keep his brother wrapped in his arms in a protective, reassuring hug and take him far away from these people so bent on hurting them.

Dexton nodded after a moment, pressing his face against Leon's neck with a terrified little whimper. "Ok Bruder..." He whispered, trying not to listen to the commotion around him.

Gilbert hated to see the two so devastated, but there was little he could do. "Boys... It'll be alright." He promised, eyes locking with Leon's for a moment as he tried to convey his apology and sincerity, not liking the cold distrust he was met with. Looking back at the ring leader, he strained to find something to do. At this point... He still had his gun. He could take out the men holding him and the boys relatively easily, but he couldn't save everyone. The move would most likely cost both of his companions their lives, and he didn't know if he could live with that. Thinking quickly, he let the emotion drain from his eyes.

"Fine. Hurt them. They aren't my kids." He glared, hoping to buy more time with the surprising approach. "I just think it's a pity that you're throwing away their lives when they could be relatively useful to you."

Antonio wrenched his attention back to the problem he was currently facing, wishing he could somehow help Gilbert and the boys almost as much as he wished he could help his Arthur.

"They are of no use to me. To us. Besides, if I kill them it'll bother you. They look more important than just a pair of random kids anyway" He snapped, glancing at the two brothers hungrily, though he rolled his eyes as the Spaniard started speaking once again behind them.

"You're right. I'll fight hard, asking for your deaths, though death is too easy for people like you. Does it warm your hearts to be so alone in this world? Does it give you some joy in your cold hearts to know that, since you can't be happy, you have to destroy other people's lives?" He snarled, verdant eyes flashing dangerously as he struggled against the arm around his neck, praying the man holding the gun to Arthur's head would stick to wanting to make him suffer.

The man snarled at Antonio's comment jerking Arthur's arm in a way that made him howl in pain and thrash weakly knowing that causing the Englishman pain would hurt the Spaniard far more than actually harming him would "We may have cold hearts... but it warms them so nicely to see the love in your eyes when you two look at each other." He sneered.

Antonio's face twisted in pain and desperation as they tormented his Arthur. He was powerless! Completely unable to help him... And that thought terrified him. If these men decided to do anything worse than tweek his injured shoulder, he wouldn't be able to top them. "Stop! Please! He's done nothing to you, pandejo!"

"Wait!" Came a small, commanding voice as tiny Eve crawled out from under the car, looking sternly up at the men, her hands balled in little fists. "You're doing it wrong." She insisted, tugging at the man with the gun's jacket. "You're doing it _wrong_." She said again, a frown on her face as Arthur and Antonio both gapped at her appearance.

The man jumped as Eve tugged on his jacket. "What the... Where did you come from!?" He demanded, looking thoroughly confused by the child's presence.

"Eve... Eve dear you need to get out of here now!" Arthur rasped, straining to get to the child and making eye contact with the terrified Jessie under the truck momentarily before his eyes watered against the agonized spasm that shot through his shoulder. "God...Eve run!" He begged, earning a smirk from his captor.

"What am I doing wrong little one?"

Antonio's eyes widened in shock as Eve smiled sweetly at the man hurting Arthur, unable to believe what he was seeing and hearing. "Eve? Eve! Go. Mija get out of here!" He begged for the small child to listen, though she took no notice of him.

"You don't threaten him like that. If you wanted to hurt them, you need to make them trust you first... That's what Leon is always talking about. See… when you trust someone and they turn around and do something mean... It hurts worse... That's how you do it... Like... Mutti and Vati. They said they'd always be here... but they aren't. That hurts more than not having a Mutti or Vati to start with... Does that make sense?" She asked, tilting her head to the side, eyes tearing up at the mention of her parents for a moment.

Arthur looked at Eve as if the child had just sprouted a second head. Had the sweet, young girl just told the bastard how to torture them correctly?! "Eve...what on earth are you...ARGH!" He howled as the man jerked his arm upwards at an unhealthy angle the bone shrieking when it rubbed together sending a wave of nauseating pain through his entire body. His eyes wide with pain and shock as he writhed in sheer, overwhelming agony while the man looked down at Eve with appreciation.

"Well aren't you smart little one? So how would you threaten them?" He asked greatly amused by the idea of this little girl trying to help them torment her friends.

"Well you got to stop doing that, first of all. Hurting him isn't exactly going to make him like you, though you've sort of messed that part up already... Hmmm... Well I would..." *It was here that Eve was stuck. She wasn't very old at all, and didn't know how to threaten anyone, let alone one of her most favorite people in the world. She tried to think of things that would be very bad.

"I'd make him be all alone... Mr. Iggy really doesn't like being alone. I think it scares him a lot... I mean like scared-of-the-dark-when-Leon-or-Jessie-aren't-arou nd scared... If he's scared, then Mr. Tonio will be upset too. Then you don't have to get all tired hurting him or anything..." She said, looking thoughtful.

Antonio looked at her, completely appalled that she was trying to help the men. Why on earth was she helping them!?

"Hmmm...If I had time...I think I'd take you up on that offer." The man laughed, wrenching Arthur's arm upwards even further enjoying the howls and soft sobs that were breaking from Arthur's throat as well as the sound of popping and tearing bones and muscle that had just started to heal. The agony on Arthur's face, plus the devastation in Antonio's eyes warmed his heart almost as much as the tiny girl's betrayal.

"I like you little girl... You could be entertaining if we kept you around. Unlike the boss, I like kids. What do you say? Wanna come and be my evil little girl?" He asked with a grin.

Arthur could barely see or hear anything anymore, his vision was blurred by tears and his ears rung with pain. Afraid to move when the man stopped twisting his arm, he shuddered, blood dripping from the lip he had bit, attempting to stifle the sobs now raking his body. What he could hear appalled him. What was Eve _doing_? She was such a sweet girl... How could she know all this?!

Eve giggled sweetly and looked up at the man with a smile. "Well it isn't like it's that hard to think of things. I'd still stop twisting his arm like that though. He broke his shoulder, and see the blood on his lips? The people eaters like the smell. They'll be all around here if he keeps biting his lip. You could always just play with them later... Where are they going to go when all of you have them as your prisoners or something? She asked, her very tone sounding like she was calling them all idiots.

Antonio shuddered. What was she doing? Prisoners? He almost wanted to say don't give them any ideas, but seeing that sweet little smile on her face, he felt sick to his stomach, not understanding why she was so ready to leave her friends for these monsters. He strained against the arms still firm around his neck when Arthur swayed from pain, wishing he could block out the sounds of his sobs and howls of agony. "Stop it! Stop hurting him, please! Por favor!" He begged in ragged desperation.

The man smiled down at the girl evilly, completely ignoring Antonio's pleas as his eyebrows raised with an impressed sort of look. "You're right... They do like the smell, but unfortunately, we don't have time to take them back and play with them, princess. Gotta take care of them out here." He pointed out glancing over at Antonio and forcing Arthur's head upwards so that the Englishman was both forced to look at Antonio while also twisting his arm into an impossible angle that left him screaming and writhing in his captors hold tasting blood in the back of his throat.

"Hush now... Do you want this to be the last thing your lover hears? Why don't you say you love him and that you'll be waiting for him on the other side or whatever it is that you to want to say? The man sneered at Antonio the gun still tauntingly in his hand.

"Just let everyone go!" Gilbert snarled, hearing enough and realizing Arthur's time was running out very quickly. "I realize that you want revenge... But are you really willing to hurt some random kids and a young couple because it might make me upset?" Gilbert demanded, his eyes unreadable. He was attempting to buy some time as he caught a flash of something in the trees out of the corner of his eyes. The only way he was going to be able to do that was to keep the men talking

He could only buy so much time for the boys, and from the pained screams coming from Antonio and Arthur's end, they didn't have much time either. _Come on Liz...do something._ He begged silently.

It was then a shot was fired.

Gilbert felt a surge of relief when the man restraining him crumpled to the ground, and proceeded to tackle the ring leader with a snarl, just as a second shot fired and freed Leon.

"You son of a bitch I'll kill you!" He bellowed, slamming his fist into the man's face with a sickening crunch. With Elizabeta's covering fire... It seemed that for once the tides were on their side.

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**So... Review please! Hate to sound whiny, but it is discouraging not to hear any form of feed back after working so hard! Don't be shy! We don't bite ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Don't eat us... We really are trying to stay on top of things and I swear at some point things will even back out again!**

**Warnings: Violence, Angst**

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As the Bulgarians whipped their heads about to try to figure out where the fire was coming from, the young German girl, Eve, marched right up to the man hurting Arthur with a mischievous look in her eyes, distracting further from the brewing struggle as gilbert tore apart his captors.

"Wait wait wait. You're going to kill them out here? Were you not listening before? _Blood_ brings _people earters_. Kill them in the trees over there. Those ones. Ja." Eve insisted, pointing towards the forest Elizabeta shot from while a grin slowly formed on her little face.

"Of course... Miss Eliza is over there, and she's going to kick your meanie butt!" She declared with a devious expression.

As soon as the men with Arthur and Antonio looked like they were ready to turn on the poor little girl, Leon surged to his feet with a snarl, the confusion and Eliza's cover fire enough of a distraction to allow him to get over to her, Dexton slung across his back. He scooped her up and ducked behind the truck to get the little ones out of the way, eyes alive with absolute fury. How could he have let this happen!

In irritation, the eldest German boy watched as the boss man groaned in pain, stumbling around drunkenly as blood rushed from his nose. Gilbert had the man tackled to the ground and was punching him repeatedly in the face.

A vehement swear fell from the man's lips as he rolled, one hand clutching his gushing nose while the other grappled with the enraged albino man. He was desperate to live, remembering his life before. It hadn't hardly been much a life... but it had been worth living. As Gilbert bludgeoned his face in something fierce, he slowly stopped struggling, the last feeling registering in his brain was a knife sliding in his throat.

Triumphant, Gilbert got to his feet to tackle another man just as his wife came charging from the trees with her frying pan in her hands and a wicked look in her hazel eyes.

Elizabeta ran forward with a screech loud enough to leave the man between Antonio and Arthur stunned for a split second too long. Her frying pan was whacking against his head with break-neck strength as he was raising his gun. The man dead before he knew what hit him, though the other two holding the men captive were prepared.

The man holding Arthur jumped in surprise when the man had crumpled to the ground at an angle only achievable in death, not having expected the woman's ferocity in her blow. Wrenching the limp Arthur backwards and pressing the gun to his head, he faced Elizabeta with a dark scowl, expecting his remaining companion holding Antonio hostage to help him hold her off.

"Don't you come any closer, bitch! Or I'll blast his damn brains across the grass!" He snarled almost shrilly, desperate to keep alive when he spotted the bodies now scattered across the grass that had once been his companions. His desperation only increased when a Antonio's captor only loosed a gurgle as a reply.

Behind the Spaniard, Jessie had lurched to her feet and dispatched the man holding him with a quick flash of a well sharpened knife, silencing him before he could respond to his companion and freeing Antonio in the process.

Antonio leapt forward with a snarl then, eyes flashing with a light only fabled in his abuelo's stories of conquistadors. The Spaniard, unlike Gilbert, was completely graceful and eloquent in the way he moved and barreled into the man holding Arthur at gun point, his hand lashing out to catch the man's throat in a vice like grip.

"Nadie me duele lo que es mío y vive." He promised in a dark, rumbling voice as he watched the light fade from the man's eyes in satisfaction.

Not far from Antonio, Gilbert held the ring leader of the Bulgarians down, looking not so unlike a crimson eyed demon.

"How dare you touch my family!" The albino man snarled, slamming his fists into the man's face and keeping him pinned firmly to the ground, blood gushing from the man's face as he rammed his blood soaked hands into his skull. Pulling out his gun when the man went limp, he pressed it between his brows and scowled fiercely.

"You'll never hurt anyone again." He promised in a soft, yet terrible voice, pulling back the trigger and blasting him with a final bang that left the clearing all but silent saved Arthur's pained noises as he lay on the ground, writhing in absolute agony.

It was only after the commotion settled that Anna raced from the trees to where her family was behind the trucks, blue eyes wide and scared as she flung at Leon with shaking arms. He hugged her tightly to him, pressing his face in her tangled blonde hair just as Jessie too joined them, her eyes bright with worry as she listened to Arthur.

"Get in. Don't question, just trust me." Leon commanded softly, motioning with his eyes for Jessie to open Gilbert's truck door for the little ones since his hands were occupied with Anna's quaking form.

Jessie regarded the boy with wide eyes, seeming to understand what the boy had planned even without him saying it.

"You want to leave them." She whispered, her eyes concerned and hurt. "Why? They have done nothing but be kind to us... Leon...if you ask me to go I will, I'll always follow you, you saved my life, how could I not? …but they need us I think. Almost as much as we need them." She whispered, glancing over to where Elizabeta was as she stood over Arthur, checking him over as gently as she could with a terrible fear in her eyes.

Leon shook his head slowly as Dexton opened the truck door instead and crawled in, Eve not far behind. He appreciated Jessie's concern, and valued her opinion… but they all had almost died being around Gilbert and the others, and that wasn't something he could ignore.

As he placed Anna in the car his eyes flicked over to the adults, meeting Gilbert's for a moment. He knew his blue ones had to be full of both dislike and pain, so he very quickly looked away.

Staggering to his feet at Leon's glance, Gilbert shuddered his eyes wide with realization of what he had just done. When the boy looked away, he began to stagger towards him, intent on making sure he was ok.

"Leon...I..." But, he cut off when he realized what the boy was doing, loading up the kids into one car...was he...leaving them? The thought wounded him, he was already blaming himself for what was happening. Now, just like that, they were going to leave. The world was dangerous, and though Leon was brave and smart, he wasn't sure how far they would get. Not only that... but he had actually grown fond of having the children around.

Jessie watched as slowly the albino man turned away, her eyes full of sympathy. She hated leaving them! Taking a deep breath, she confronted Leon as he shut the door and met his gaze respectfully but firmly. "Leon… Think for a minute, bitte?" She begged quietly, urging for him to listen, though he shook his head again, dead set against staying.

"Nein, Jess. Think, will you? We _never _came that close to dying on our own. Never. They promised they'd keep us safe, but they can't even keep themselves safe!" Leon protested, his blue eyes pleading for his friend… His sister really, to listen to his side as well.

"Look... I... I like them too. I really do... but I have never been more afraid for my bruder's life in my entire life... and not only him! I thought I was going to get Eve, Anna and you killed too! All because I agreed to go with Gil and Eliza!" His tone was thick with distress, as he grew tense with indecision, relaxing oly slightly when he felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder from the girl.

"Nein...I'm sorry Leon...but nein. Don't think you made the wrong decision just because we almost got hurt." Jessie whispered shaking her head and backing up, though she looked at the boy sympathetically, not envying the role he had taken on.

"We would have died Leon. You know that as well as I do. Ja, this was a close call, but it's better than slowly starving to death or being mauled by that massive horde of zombies we had living above us." She explained firmly glancing over at the grief stricken Gilbert who was staring back at them with wide, hopeless eyes. She smiled faintly as Leon looked contemplative.

"Between you and me, we have no chance in hell, keeping these kids fed and protected on our own. We just don't have it in us Leon! You can try all you want, but you've already worked yourself into passing out once since this started, and that was with supplies and a relatively safe place. What would we have on our own?" She urged, her blue-grey eyes sparking with compassion and understanding as she moved forward and hugged him tightly.

"They care about us, Leon. They gave us their food, their medicine... and more importantly they're people that Eve, Anna... Dexton... can look up to. They're adults Leon, we're just kids... I know you love as all, your brother more than anything... These people want to help us." She promised as she released him.

Leon hated being called a kid and being told he wasn't good enough to keep the others alive, he hated having to depend on people he didn't know for help that, as resent events proved, couldn't give any better than he could, he hated not being able to give the others what they needed... and if he was honest enough with himself, he was afraid of losing the respect and affection of the others because the adults could care for them better. Even though he knew Jessie was probably right, he shook his head again, sorrow in his eyes.

"Nein... Jessie this is what we are going to do. We know how to survive, we've already had to before. We can keep the kids safe... I will not stick with people who can't even keep themselves safe and expect them to protect us." He whispered, holding the girl's eyes firmly.

"Nein Leon. This is what you're going to do." Jessie whispered back, her eyes flashing with hurt at his decision.

"I refuse to abandon them like this!" She said a little louder stomping her foot in exasperation. "Just running off after they almost died to try and get us out?! Arthur hid us and created a distraction so that we could get away! He's the reason that Elizabeta got to the trees and could shoot those men off you! Gilbert killed people for you! Did you see him when he realized you were in trouble?! He didn't care if he died! He wanted you to survive, Leon!" She desperately begged for him to understand, eyes wide with distress. He couldn't seriously believe that leaving was truly the right decision!

Leon's heart shattered as Jessie said she was leaving him. "If it wasn't for them in the first place, we wouldn't have had to worry about this at all!" He snapped back, eyes flashing in challenge. "I never said I didn't like them and am not grateful for them, but they don't even listen to each other! That's going to get us all killed!"

"I'm not leaving, Leon. Es tut mir lied... They may be dysfunctional, but what family isn't? We don't always listen to each other either! Doesn't mean we don't try to work through it and stay together. I trust them Leon, and they are a part of our family whether you want to admit it or not. You want to go, then I won't stop you... but I am staying here." Jessie asserted firmly, praying he'd realize he had even less a chance in keeping the kids alive without what little help she had given when they were alone.

Leon could hardly believe Jessie was being so stubborn. Betrayal welled up in his eyes and he quickly looked away, feeling the pressure of tears coming on.

"Fine... Stay. _Stay_ I don't care." He grumbled, more hurt and angry than he remembered ever being at any person ever in his life. He picked up his bat and shoved passed Jessie, ignoring the pressure building behind his eyes and the soft protests of the smaller children from inside the car.

She didn't have to go with him then, none of them did! Yet, he couldn't bring himself to go very far. The whole point of leaving was to keep his family safe, and he wasn't about to just leave them. Instead, he sat down where he was, miserably, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his forehead on top.

"Oh God...oh God..." Arthur was stammering, clutching at his arm while he lay crumbled upon the grass. His arm felt as though it had been mutilated by some giant beast. Barely hearing Elizabeta when she spoke to him and tried to sooth him, he shuddered and writhed, terrified that he would never be able to use his arm again. It felt so numb...useless hanging at his side. What had that bastard done to him?!

Elizabeta looked over at Antonio where he sat on the ground, staring at the man he had killed with conflicted eyes. Though she sympathized for the poor Spaniard who had startled her in his ferocity, the Englishman beside her desperately needed him to keep a little calmer.

"Antonio, dear... Arthur?" She reminded gently, rousing the Spaniard from his daze.

Antonio moved to Arthur's side instantly, feeling wretched at his failure to keep him safe, as well as feeling horrified at his own brutality.

"Lo siento... Lo siento! I couldn't help you... I'm so sorry Arthur... What do we do, Eliza?" He questioned, looking at the woman, praying she had some idea, only to look crushed when she uncertainly shook her head, looking as lost as he felt.

Arthur glanced up at Antonio through pain glazed eyes and shook his head. Antonio did everything he could. This wasn't his fault. Placing his head onto Antonio's lap, he clenched his eyes shut, feeling bile in his throat just from the pain his shoulder was in.

"We have to set it." Gilbert whispered approaching the group after grudgingly leaving Leon and Jessie to sort things out on their own. He couldn't force the boy to stay...he just couldn't.

"If we let it stay like that, it's going to heal wrong, or not at all. I've broken a few bones in my time, and had to set them myself. He's going to be in a hell of a lot of pain for a few seconds, but it's his only shot right now." He instructed, glancing warily at Antonio when he leaned down and pulled back the binding around Arthur's shoulder, revealing the purple and black swollen appendage. He smiled faintly when the Spaniard didn't so much as look irate by the action.

Antonio, instead, ran his fingers through Arthur's hair gently, wishing he could take away the man's pain. "Lo siento..." He whispered again, nodding at Gilbert to continue with terribly concerned, verdant eyes. He trusted Gilbert knew what he was doing.

"I'm not going to lie...Arthur this is going to feel like I'm trying to rip off your arm." Gilbert sighed, glancing down at the Englishman who nodded slowly, his eyes wide with fear and pain.

"J...just get it over with." Arthur rasped, his good hand reaching out to grab onto Antonio's, already clenching his fingers around the Spaniard's painfully tight.

To Antonio's credit, he didn't flinch from the grip.

Gilbert nodded grimly and sighed, trying to remember exactly what way he was going to need to pull to set it as close to correct as he could get it. "Antonio...Eliza...I need you to hold him down, because despite how tough he might be...he isn't going to like this." He muttered, glancing over at his wife.  
"Also...bite down onto this when I tell you to. We've made so much noise already, and I don't want to add to it." He said to Arthur, extending a strip of leather from his knife holster for the blonde to clamp between his already grit teeth.

Elizabeta nodded and held down Arthur's legs while Antonio restrained his upper half, her eyes scanning for the infected she knew had to be drawing closer to the front of the base. "Come on dear, we have to get going soon..."

Gilbert bit back the irritated comment that bubbled up inside his throat when his wife spoke, and simply nodded, leaning down and grabbing onto Arthur's arm. He planted his foot next to the Englishman's chest.

"If I do this too fast...or wrong...I could damage his arm permanently. I realize we're in a hurry, but this is not something I can just rush." He explained patiently, gripping onto Arthur's arm and shoulder.

Arthur's eyes widened slightly over at the comment, and a shudder rolled through his body. Clenching his eyes shut, he sent a prayer up towards the heavens and steeled himself, clenching his teeth around the leather strip so hard it made his jaw hurt.

"On the count of five..." Gilbert announced, leaning forward and bracing himself. "Eins... Zwei!" Pulling back with a sickening crunch before Arthur had time to tense, Gilbert grimaced as the bone popped back into place, and despite the gag, Arthur let out a horrible pained shriek, his vision going white before slumping to the ground unconscious.

Antonio flinched at the pained shriek that exploded from Arthur's lips, and he hugged him a little tighter. When the man fell unconscious, he couldn't but be thankful... At least Arthur couldn't feel the pain he was in anymore.

Gilbert grimaced as he stood again and placed Arthur's arm gently across his chest. "Careful when you move him. We'll bind it later... Hopefully he stays out while we drive, because he's going to be... irritable when he wakes up."

"Let's hope... But you won't have to be with him... You are riding with Elizabeta I thought? *Antonio said, looking confused as he gently rocked his unconscious Englishman.

Gilbert didn't answer, glancing over at the children he frowned. Why hadn't they left yet?

"They...they're thinking about leaving. At least I thought they were… I was going to let them take the truck. I don't think we have the right to stop them." He explained in an almost defeated tone, his eyes growing concerned when he realized he didn't see Leon.

The boy in question sat under a tree, lost in tormented thought. He could still see the others if he looked, but he wasn't all too sure that they could see him, surrounded by overgrown grass as it was. He felt dead inside... Already having lost so much and gaining so many things to worry about, Jessie refusing to follow him, crushed him. "I'm trying my best, verdammt!" He snapped to the air, blinking back stubborn tears. "What more do you want from me?!"

"They what? No... No they can't leave Gilbert! They'll die out there!" Elizabeta said, eyes frantic as she glanced over at the children. "Why would they want to leave? I was starting to think they liked us!"

Jessie sighed, lifted Eve into her arms and slowly made her way over to the adults, leading Dexton and Anna. Hearing what Elizabeta said, she frowned apologetically.

"We do like you Miss Elizabeta... We're not leaving." She assured, though her eyes looked distraught. "What about Leon? Where is he?" Gilbert demanded, looking around in concern when the oldest boy still didn't make a reappearance.

"He just needs a moment..." Jessie whispered, meeting Gilbert's eyes calmly, though maybe a little uncertainly. She only broke the eye contact when Eve wriggled in her arms and she set the young girl down, watching as she immediately went over to Antonio and Arthur's side.

"Mr. Tonio... Is Iggy ok?" Eve asked, looking mortified as she spotted Arthur lying limp in the Spaniard's arms.

Antonio smiled down at Eve, looking tired and worried, though he slowly extended one of his arms from around Arthur and allowed her to crawl up onto his lap.

"Well... His shoulder is still hurt, but Gilbert put it back where it's supposed to be. He'll be ok, and better before you know it, don't cry mija. It's ok. It's ok." He promised quietly with a warm smile*

"I tried to get him to stop hurting him...but he wouldn't!" She whimpered, tears forming in her eyes as he gently patted Arthur's head for a moment, before she threw her arms around Antonio's neck and cried softly. It had been a long day for the poor little one… For all of them

"I know mija. I know... But it is ll over now, and will be ok. I promise." Antonio assured soothingly, hugging her tightly to him with one hand while still holding Arthur with the other.

"Ok..." Eve whispered, her tiny form shuddering with fear when she realized just how close she may have been to being hurt or killed. I don't like them! They're bad guys! *She whined sobbing into Antonio's blood splattered shirt.

Antonio hugged Eve tightly, a soft smile on his face despite the fact the small girl cried. "They are bad guys, but you're safe now, mija. We have you to thank for that. Had you not thought to be so clever like that, I don't know that Mr. Iggy or I would have made it much longer." He praised softly, impressed by her cunning. She had even had them fooled.

"But...but he didn't listen to me!" The child whimpered, her face buried into Antonio's neck. "He hurt Iggy more when I came out!" She whispered, shivering violently and glancing down at Arthur whose face had scrunched in pain ever so slightly, even in his sleep. "I don't want you to be hurt anymore! I don't like it!"

"He listened to you for long enough for Elizabeta to help before he killed Arthur." Antonio disagreed calmly, trying to get the girl to see how brilliant she had been, even if it had been dangerous.

"I don't want him to be hurt either... I hate it... But he'll get better. I promise." He reassured, rubbing her back and rocking back and forth slowly.

"They made Arthur's arm broken!" Eve protested, blue eyes flashing both angrily and fearfully as she leaned back to stare at the Spaniard in protest. "What if it doesn't fix! We don't have a doctor! When my vati hurt his hand, they had to take him to the doctor to fix it!" She rambled frantically.

Antonio sighed and looked a little skeptical himself. She had a point... Arthur's shoulder was beyond broken, and even with it being set there was no guarantee that it would heal properly. They didn't have anyone even close to a doctor with them. He owned a coffee shop, Gil was police and he just assumed Eliza stayed home.

"Well, we have Gilbert. He isn't a doctor, I know..." He said when Eve shot him a skeptical look. "but he says he's broken bones before... It was him who said to set it... Hopefully he knows enough? Or maybe we just need to drive all across Europe to find a doctor! What do you think?" He asked, smiling brilliantly when the small child nodded, completely enthused.

"Ja! We need a doctor." Eve decided, hiccupping slightly as she clung to the Spaniard like a life line. "Then he'll be all better...do doctors live in the hospitals? Should we look for them there?" She asked curiously, determined to find her Mr. Iggy help.

"No they don't live in hospitals!" Antonio laughed, eyes crinkling at the corners. "We'll go find a doctor. The best doctor ever mija." He continued with a smile, glad the little girl was cheering back up.

"For now though, we should get Arthur in the truck where he can rest a little easier than on the ground." He said, glancing over at the others with a sigh when he saw they still were talking amongst themselves and glancing around the trees.

"Ja...the best doctor ever!" Eve chirped squirming out of his hold when he suggested they move Arthur to the truck. "You gotta pick him up! You can't carry us both."

Antonio laughed again and nodded as he gently picked up Arthur in his arms, being as careful as he could to avoid the poor Englishman's shoulder. He headed to their truck with Eve in tow, a small frown on his face as he realized the others were still discussing the absence of Leon.

"Leon wants to leave because this scared him. He doesn't like feeling out of control and this situation sort of... well put him on edge to say the least." Jessie was explaining as she hug Elizabeta tightly, almost as if hugging her own mother after going through a scary situation.

"He's just scared... And a little unsure of himself? I think he gets afraid that you all will replace him in all of our hearts. He'll be back soon. He won't leave us behind." She assured sniffling softly when the Hungarian woman she pressed against rubbed her back soothingly.

"I suppose you are right…" Gilbert sighed, looking back away from the trees with extremely worried eyes. He had been about to go hunt down Leon, but Jessie was probably right... He needed his space to gather his thoughts. Instead, he scooped up the wide eyed Anna and pat her back gently, sighing when she wrapped her skinny arms around his neck with a small, terrified shudder.

"You are sure he'll come back? I don't want him to get hurt trying to run off by himself! Poor dear…" Elizabeta fretted, scanning the trees for the oldest boy. She quickly regretted her words as Dexton burst into tears at her side, a heartbroken wail falling from his lips.

"Nein! Nein d-don't say th-that! He'll come back! He said he'd never leave! He has t-to..." He wailed with a stutter, holding onto Elizabeta with a death tight grip.

"If he's not back in five minutes, I'm going after him." Gilbert decided, calmly glancing down at Dexton with a comforting look on his face.

"He'll be fine. He's just...stubborn and afraid for you. He'll come back, and when he does we'll get out of here alright?" He promised, rubbing Anna's back gently as his crimson eyes locked onto the tree line cautiously. He wasn't sure if any of those creatures had heard all their commotion or not, but he was damned sure that if they did, he and his family had very little time to get moving.

Leon could see Gilbert scanning the trees from where he sat, shelter behind vegetation as he was. He still held back from returning to them, though he knew he wasn't leaving them. The way he truly didn't look needed was unsettling and upsetting. Was that the real reason he wanted to leave? He wasn't sure... This entire thing had scared him more so than he had been since the start of the apocalypse, but... leaving Gilbert and the others wasn't right.

He was being childish.

With a sigh he stood up and pushed back into the clearing with what he hoped to be a calm expression on his face and in his eyes.

"Leon!" Dexton cried when he spotted his brother approaching. Scrambling away from Elizabeta, he rushed to his brother's side and nearly knocked him over with his hug. Blubbering nonsensically, he clung to the older boy and wailed about him being scared that he was going to leave, and that he was sorry, and begging for him to stay with Jessie because he didn't want the family to split apart.

Gilbert watched the scene from the side, his eyes unreadable as he waited for Leon to respond. He dared to hope that maybe the boy had changed his mind about leaving while he had disappeared.

Leon wrapped his arms around Dexton instantly, pulling him to his chest in a tight hug. "Didn't I say I'd never leave you? Don't cry bruder. It's ok. Don't be afraid. I'm not leaving you. You didn't do anything wrong. Breathe, ja? It's ok. I'm not going to leave you." He repeated softly over and over. "I'm not leaving.'

Dexton clung to his brother, his eyes still streaming with tears but his flustered sobs ceasing almost instantly, remembering being loud wasn't a good idea.

"Ja... ok..." He whimpered, clenching his eyes shut.

Sighing as he caught sight of movement in the trees, Gilbert approached the reunited boys.

"I really hate to break this up, but we need to get out of here." He explained, shifting Anna to his hip and meeting Leon's eyes, praying he didn't choose to leave. "If you're ready." He added after a moment, giving Leon the opportunity to say he would stay or go, but not pressuring him either way. All he wanted was for the boy to trust him...

Leon sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, the idea of running fluttering in his mind with Gilbert's crimson eyes on him. Where would they go if they ran away from these people? There was nowhere safe for them. Nowhere... He told himself that over and over in his head as he opened his eyes again and nodded.

"Why are you asking my opinion or consent on leaving?" He muttered, not so much annoyed as he was discouraged and a little confused. It wasn't like his opinion would change anything the albino man decided to do.

Gilbert shook his head at the look in Leon's eyes. "I want your opinion Leon." The man insisted, his crimson eyes locking with Leon's soft blue ones with an understanding gaze. The boy could blame him all he wanted for what happened, but he needed to understand that the children needed and respected him, loved him like the older brother he had become to all of them, not just Dexton.

"We need to find somewhere safe to stay tonight...we all need sleep and Arthur is a mess. Do you have any ideas?" He asked calmly, a faint smile on his lips.

Leon sighed and looked down, finding it hard to feel any animosity towards the older German man when he was being exceedingly patient and kind. "My ideas haven't been popular as of late... In all honesty, it is probably a good idea to move into the base and stay overnight. There couldn't have been many of them, and it is already getting dark. The only issue with that is we made an awful lot of noise and it is really big..." He shook his head even as he finished his idea. The base wouldn't work.

"The other choice would be just sleeping in the cars until we find a better place? But then Arthur won't be able to rest his shoulder..." The boy sighed and frowned contemplatively. "I don't really know, Gil."

I think you are right... I don't think staying here is in the cards. This base is too big, and the forest around it is too thick... There's no way we could hold it if something happened, and if these bastards... Es tut mir lied Anna... If these men had friends, I don't particularly want to tangle with them tonight." Gilbert pointed out, chuckling when Anna smacked his shoulder lightly for cursing.

"I like the idea of us moving on and sleeping in the trucks if necessary. I want to put some distance between us and this God forsaken place first though... But you are right, it'll be hard on Arthur." He sighed before a mischievous light crept into his crimson irises. He extended the keys to his truck towards Leon and looked at him with a small, encouraging grin. "You want to drive? I'm tired, and Elizabeta was up all night."

Leon looked absolutely shocked as Gilbert held the keys out to him, absolutely disbelieving that the albino trusted him enough to drive the massive vehicle. He was so shocked, he didn't feel Eve's hand pat his hip to draw his attention.

"Can I drive with Mr. Tonio? I wanna keep an eye on Iggy till we find a doctor!" She announced rather loudly with her hands on her hips, annoyed Leon was still not paying attention.

Hesitantly, a smile spread across Leon's face. "You sure?" He asked, slowly reaching out to accept the keys, half expecting Gilbert to pull them away. "Even after I was planning on stealing from you and leaving you?" He asked warily, wanting Gilbert to understand who he was entrusting his truck and other people's lives with.

It took Eve pulling on his sleeve to realize she was talking to him. "Oh! Es tut mir liebe, liebling. You want to ride with Antonio? Mmm... I don't care, but make sure it's ok with him." He looked away from the keys in his hand to the Spaniard, eyes questioning.

Antonio smiled and nodded. "I don't mind, amigo. She wants to ride with us, she can." He assured, smiling from where he was standing beside his and Arthur's truck, keeping an eye on the unconscious blonde.

Leon waved Eve off then and turned his attention back to Gilbert, still looking terribly uncertain.

"Ja, I'm sure." Gilbert chuckled, placing his hands in his pockets with a shrug.

"I could trust worst people I'm sure... In fact, I _have_ trusted worse people. You're a good kid Leon, I know you aren't going to run off with my truck... Especially when I got this little midget as a hostage." He grinned squeezing Anna to him with a chuckle when she giggled. He looked up in alarm for a moment when someone followed after Eve back towards Antonio, but relaxed again when he realized it was only Jessie.

Leon smiled a little more, allowing Elizabeta to take Dexton to get him in the car when she held her arms out for him.

"Es tut mir leid..." He said to Gilbert with a sigh, looking a little ashamed of himself as well as rather sheepish. "I... Was worried about childish things... I really do like you... All of you. You're the closest thing to a _real _Vati I think I've ever had, and I shouldn't have reacted so... extremely. I... I trust you, Gil... I don't know how much that means to you, but that's huge coming from me... Danke."

Gilbert couldn't believe his ears when Leon declared his trust, completely surprised. He placed Anna on the ground, gesturing for her to go get in the car, and when she obeyed, he reached out and tugged the boy into a near spine crunching hug. Chuckling, he ruffled the boy's hair and shook his head, his eyes sparkling with some unreadable emotion.

"I knew you wouldn't leave, Leon." He grinned in his characteristically strange fashion and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, leading him to the car. "And it means a lot to me... I wish I could really be your father Leon, I can't think of a higher honor than that right now."

Leon was startled by the strong reaction at first, but he laughed softly as Gilbert draped an arm over his shoulders, finding the albino humorous and strangely comforting. "Well... In my eyes you are... That's all that counts, ja? And about this whole driving thing, you'll have to tell me where to go, unless Antonio is leading." He said as they both got into the car.

"Gut... Then I shall remember to do everything in my power to make you proud to give me such an honor." Gilbert grinned, getting into the passenger seat with a sigh and rubbing the bridge of his nose. Pulling out the map, he scanned it over slowly and nodded.

"Head down this road, turn right when you reach the interstate. We're going to head north towards the coast for a bit and see what we can find." He suggested, glancing back at Elizabeta with a smile. "How's that sound liebe?"

Leon listened carefully and nodded. Sounded easy enough. Briefly he wondered if there was a point to heading north, or if it was just the direction Gilbert wanted to take.

"Mmm... Sounds as good a plan as any, dear. Though if we do see a safe place to stop, I wouldn't mind resting some place other than the truck." Elizabeta commented mildly as both Anna and Dexton rested their heads against her, both looking exhausted after the events of the day.

"Keep an eye out for places to stay while you're at it...and don't go too fast. There's a lot of cars and other debris on the road I don't want to be stuck changing a tire in the middle of the night." Gilbert instructed as Leon pulled out onto the road, nodding at his wife in recognition of her opinion.

While they drove down the road, Gilbert continued with his friendly reminders, and calm corrections to Leon's driving, having a feeling he was fairly new to the whole idea of driving a car, and a monster of one at that. "If you keep your hands here instead of here the truck won't jerk so much. See that up ahead? That's a car...give it a wide berth there might be glass on the ground around it."

Leon avidly listened to Gilbert's comments, never questioning him or growing annoyed. The car he went around held the top half of one an infected, it's legs attached to it's body by a few worthless strands of muscle. The sight made him shiver.

"What is it I am looking for exactly? What counts as a good place to stop?" He asked quietly in an attempt to distract himself from the scene.

Gilbert sighed and rubbed the back of his head, not knowing how to answer specifically. "Somewhere out in the open, or tall enough to see for a ways. I don't want anything sneaking up on us if we can help it. Your hotel was perfect for keeping an eye out, but it was too big to control for very long." He explained, scanning through the trees and spotting several houses but nothing usuable.

"Elizabeta are you keeping an eye out? You're pretty good at spotting these things." He asked, glancing back at her only to laugh when he found that she had crashed along with both Dexton and Anna.

"Well then... No help there. We're on our own kiddo." He chuckled, shaking his head as he faced forward again.

"She's tired... It's ok, we can find what we're looking for, ja?" Leon said, looking determined as they drove on.

"It would help if we got away from these trees..." He mumbled with a slight frown. Trees made it hard to see far away, and the towering plants were everywhere.

"Keep going... These trees will end at some point. If you get tired let me know, I'll take over." Gilbert instructed, his eyes locked onto the road ahead of them.

"Hey... Up there, do you see that sign? It leads to the interstate... If we get on that, it'll take us out of this area faster and we could probably find somewhere a bit more open to stay." He suggested, leaning back in his seat with a groan.

"Gott… I'm sore in places I didn't know _existed_." He laughed, rubbing at his shoulders. He hurt just about everywhere.

"I'm not tired, but I'll let you know if I am." Leon promised, turning onto an onramp and flashing on the truck's headlights at the same time as the sun sunk lower and lower in the sky.

"With all the grunts and groans you're making, people might mistake you as old instead of sore." He teased with a small smile on his face, blue eyes shining with amusement.

"I'm not all that old." Gilbert huffed, rolling his eyes and sticking his tongue out at the boy childishly. When Leon only laughed, he rolled his eyes good naturedly and looked out the window at the mirror, wondering how Antonio was getting on with Jessie and Eve.

Jessie glanced at Antonio and let out a small sigh, having stayed silent since she had gotten in the car. "Hey Antonio... Have you ever had to...kill someone like that before?" She demanded suddenly, her eyes flickering to her own blood soaked blade at her side. "And is it bad that it feels so much different than killing one of those...things?  
Antonio sighed heavily and glanced over at her sympathetically. "So that is what's bugging you, mija... I killed a man back there too... It is normal, I think, to feel upset about killing another human, even if it was someone bent on harming you... I'm sorry you had to do that, but I am very grateful you did."

"I feel...terrible. Like I'm going to be sick, but I know I'm not." Jessie muttered, leaning up against Antonio with a small quiver, concentrating on Eve's soft breathing as the child dozed in the backseat and ignoring the soft groans and occasional whimper coming from Arthur. "I just want everything to be ok again...like it was before this all went to hell."

"I know the feeling... It might be easier for you if you realize if it wasn't him it would have been Arthur. I know that isn't really helpful though... Lo siento." Antonio said softly, draping an arm around the girl's shoulders as he continued to follow behind the other truck.

"I think we all wish life was as it had been before... I know I do... But..." He trailed off, glancing in the rear view mirror. "In a way, I would rather be here, fighting for my life each day. If this hadn't happened, I never would have met the love of my life, nor Gilbert or Eliza, or a head strong boy bent on keeping his brother and three kids he hardly knew alive, or a little girl who can make just about anyone like her, or you, mija. So... though life is terrifying now... I wouldn't necessarily change it."

"Ja...I suppose it's nice to have met so many different people, but...if this hadn't happened...We would still have our parents...Gilbert would have a brother...and Arthur wouldn't be hurt. I think that If I had a choice to live in this world or not know everyone I know now… I would go back just so that they wouldn't have to be in pain." Jessie whispered, a few tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I miss my parents, too…" She admitted, wiping at her eyes desperately. I want them back so much." She whimpered, feeling a soft hiccup fill her chest as she leaned into Antonio's hold with a shudder.

"Oh don't cry mija... Missing your parents is hard... I know. Trust me, both of mine are dead too... At least I am guessing mi Mamá is dead… Losing them is still hard... It'll be alright... You will always miss them, but hopefully you let us all fill a tiny space of your loneliness as you miss them..." Antonio soothed softly, rubbing her shoulder with his thumb as he drove with one hand on the wheel.

"You do... You all do. You're like a big extended family to me now." Jessie assured through a sob, her eyes glancing up at him sadly and looking over at the two in the backseat.

"Do you think that...he'll be ok? Really?" She demanded with a sad sigh, worry for the man eating at her the longer he stayed unconscious. "Eve...really likes him. More so than most people." She muttered, frowning slightly and looking away, afraid she would upset the Spaniard. "I don't want her to have to lose someone... Not right after she lost her parents."

Antonio nodded confidently. "I think he'll be just fine... He won't die from this injury, though I am a little concerned about his arm healing properly... I have noticed that she shows favoritism to_ my _Arthur though..." The Spaniard said, putting just a little too much emphasis on the word.

"She's four...I doubt you'll have much competition." Jessie reminded him, grinning in amusement at his possessive comment. Was the Spaniard really concerned about having to compete for Arthur with a child? "I hope he heals alright..." She added, returning her gaze back to the street.

"Why don't you tell me about how you two met?" Her eyes were hopeful for a story as she asked, curious to know the Spaniard and the Englishman's story

"Antonio blushed slightly at her comment, feeling a little childish for being so quick to claim his love. "How did we meet? Let's see... I was sitting in my house on the couch, not really doing much of anything… Playing my guitar I think? When furious pounding came knocking at my door... I went to open it, only to find a rather out of breath Englishman I had never seen before come bursting into my house and begging for me to shut and lock the door. Of course, I didn't want to be rude. I allowed him to stay and asked him what was the matter. He told me all about how his neighbor had tried to bite him, and how he had been running for a good two hours before finally seeing my light on in my house. I'll admit... I thought he had gone muy loco... but for some reason I trusted him... and we've been together ever since... Of course, we didn't realize we had feelings for each other until a couple days later..." He said, giving a rather brief description of the way he had met Arthur.

"He loves you a lot...you can tell just by the way he looks at you when you turn away." Jessie giggled slightly her grief forgotten momentarily. "You two act like a married couple most of the time... If this was all over, do you think you two would get married for real?" She asked curiously.

Antonio's eyes were glued to the road, weaving around the infected much more easily than monster of a truck in front of him, though he figured it had something to do with who was driving. Would he ever marry Arthur? Quite honestly he would love to… but it wasn't likely to ever happen.

"If he and I are still alive at the end of this, I will ask him to marry me. Might take me a while to find the courage to ask, but someday, I hope. I love him very much as well..." He said with a soft sigh, his heart in his throat and eyes just talking about the injured man occupying the majority of the back seat.

"I'm sure that you'll both make it out of here just fine." Jessie smiled encouragingly, her gaze following his into the rearview mirror and her smile faltering slightly when she took in the man's pale, strained face. No wonder he hadn't woken up yet, the pain was intense enough to bother him in his sleep. She didn't want to know what it be like when he was awake. "He'll just have to make sure he doesn't move his arm...then he'll be fine."

As the drive continued though, and the blond remained unconscious, both Antonio and Jessie grew restless. Arthur needed a doctor, but there was no way finding one while trying to survive the mass of zombies that overtook the world's population.

* * *

**Let us know how you like it even though it is terribly late!**


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